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JTH AeSiGAN MISSIONS
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PRINCETON, N. J.
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Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund.
BV 3555 . M34 1876
Malan, C. H.
South African missions
.
SOUTH AFKICAN MISSIONS.
MURRAY AND GIBB, EDINBURGH,
PRINTERS TO HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2015
https://archive.org/details/southafricanmissOOmala
SOUTH AFRICAN
MISSIONS.
BY
/
C. H. MAL AN,
ONCE A MAJOR IN THE BRITISH ARMY,
AUTHOR OF 1 A SOLDIER^ EXPERIENCE OF GOD’S LOVE.’
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
1876.
/
PREFACE.
I have taken up my pen a second time to praise
God. It is a good thing to praise Him. His people
should never be tired of praising Him, or of hearing
His praises. The more they know of His works,
the more they consider His ways, the greater cause
will they have to adore His wisdom, love, and
power.
This book is meant for a second record of the
love of God, and of His faithfulness to His word.
The first referred to myself. It was written in fear
and trembling, lest I should in any way detract
from Him the glory due unto His name. This
second is the testimony of two churches to the life and
power of Him whom the Church universal adores as
God and Lord , although the world at large rejects
His salvation, and despises His gospel.
The deepest sympathy should bind together the
churches of different nations. For many reasons
the Churches of Great Britain and France should be
especially dear to each other. They have kept the
VI
PREFACE.
faith of Christ through centuries of earthly tribula-
tion. Severed from each other by various causes
for many hundred years, they are able now to meet
in peace, and to rejoice in God their Saviour. Each
has a wonderful history. That of the Church of
France is most wonderful.
To many Christians in England, the existence of
a true Church of Christ in France during these past
centuries is a thing unknown. They consider that
it was long ago drowned in blood. Not so. It has
lived, for Christ is the Life. It has survived every
effort at annihilation, for He is the wisdom and
power of God. And now, after being looked upon
for centuries as no better than a dead stump, it has
thrown out a shoot which for strength and beauty
equals any in the world.
The history of the Mission of the Church of
France to the Basuto tribe in South Africa should
be read by every Christian. I have endeavoured to
give it simply and concisely in this book. How,
when, and where I gathered the material is ex-
plained. The Church of France sent a Mission to
South Africa. The Lord chose men of singular faith
and courage. They went into a country where the
white man was then unknown. They preached
Christ to a tribe which is now, by God’s blessing on
their labours, the most advanced of all the South
African tribes under the British Crown.
PREFACE.
Vll
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ must preach
the gospel of His salvation to all Africa. Fifty
years ago it entered the country in His name for
the second time. For the last thirty years very
little advance has been made towards the interior,
although much unoccupied ground has been filled
up. The Church needs faith in the Lord. She
needs to believe that He is the same in the vast
wilderness of Africa as in the streets and lanes of
the cities of Europe ; that He has arranged the
preaching of His word to nations in Africa as to
individuals in England. May this book, with every
other record of missionary labour, help to such faith.
May it tell the churches at home that the Lord is
going before them as they enter the interior of
Africa, and that as they advance with prayer they
will find that He has prepared the way !
I ask forgiveness for introducing the following
narratives ; but it bears on the above truth. I went
forth, weary in body, to seek a place for a mission
station among the Galeka Kaffirs, near the Bashee
river. I did not know the country, and I had no
idea what to do. But I had given some days to
earnest prayer concerning this journey. Three
Kaffir brethren accompanied me. We had off-
saddled for the first time, and I gathered them
round me to hear the word. Opening it at the
places of my daily meditation, what was my joy to
yin
PREFACE.
find in the portion for the day these words : ‘And
as they went Jesus met them, saying, All hail ! ’
How it cheered me ! It seemed as if the Lord had
met me and my companions, and had saluted us
with His own voice, saying, All hail ! The next
verse was yet more assuring : ‘Then said Jesus, Be
not afraid : go tell my brethren that they go into
Galilee, and there shall they see me ’ (Matt, xxviii.).
My heart was full. The Lord has said, ‘Be not
afraid, go into Galilee, there shall they see me.
We shall find Galilee somewhere near the Bashee, and
there shall we see Him ! This was all my comment.
We prayed and went on. If ever the Lord mani-
fested His presence by His works in behalf of His
servants, He was seen by us at the Bashee. He
made Kreli and his chiefs choose the station, and all
was settled without trouble in one day ! I record
this, as it may encourage some brother or sister
going forth in the Lord’s name to difficult work in
an unknown place.
A notice of the Mission of the Church of America
in Natal has been added, that the history of the
missions of that Church and its work among the
Zulus in South Africa may be known among
Christians in Great Britain. The Church in
America was founded by men who forsook land,
friends, and all things in England, for the truth of
Christ ; and thus, in the history of American
PREFACE.
IX
missions is given the testimony of the Churches of
England and America to the faithfulness of their
Lord.
As an eye-witness of the results of the labours
of these missions, I have thought it best to give
daily notes of my visits to the various stations. It
is not difficult to write simply what is seen and
heard ; but it is quite impossible to convey in
writing any idea of the difficulties and trials en-
countered by missionary pioneers among the heathen
tribes of Africa.
The frontispiece is from a photograph of my
Gaika servant and myself. I have purposely
inserted it, in preference to a map or sketch, because
I believe that if Africa is to be speedily evangelized,
it must be done by the native churches working
together with the European and American mission-
aries. I have dwelt upon this subject in the last
chapter, so need not write more here. Day by day,
this Gaika and I prayed and worked together.
Wonderfully have our prayers been answered. By
the grace of God, he has been kept faithful and
diligent. May the same grace preserve him blame-
less unto the end !
This book has been written and sent to England
in parts, to save weight to my horses on the march.
I trust, therefore, that any repetition of facts may
be excused.
X
PREFACE.
In closing this record of the Mission of the
Church of France, I unintentionally omitted to
give any statistics concerning that Mission. The
following is a statement in round numbers, calcu-
lated from the return for April 1874 : — Church
members and inquirers, 4000 ; scholars, 2500 ;
native teachers and preachers, 80 ; out-stations, 50 ;
the contributions of native Christians in 1874
amounted to £710, 17s.
If compared with the statistics of the American
Missions among the Zulus, given in this book, the
question would arise, ‘ How do you account for the
difference ? ’ The answer is as easy as it is true,
and full of instruction to the Church of Christ.
The gospel was preached to the Basuto tribe before
the white man entered it even to trade. The gospel
was preached to the Zulu tribe after it had been
engaged in war with the Dutch settlers. The Basutos
knew nothing of the evils accompanying European
occupation. There are also other causes. The
Basutos are a very gentle race compared with the
Zulus. The Basuto chief, Moshesh, encouraged the
missionaries, while the Zulu chiefs, Dingane and
Chaka, by their cruelty and ambition, at one time
stopped the preaching of the gospel, and always
hindered it.
The Church of Christ should make every effort to
gain a footing into the interior of Africa before the
PREFACE.
XI
evils which attend the introduction of European
civilisation. The labour of the missionaries will
be far easier, and the gospel will be more readily
accepted.
The Mission of the Church of France in Africa
has a large open field before it, and if it had the
means, could send the gospel on to many powerful
tribes now in darkness. Men could be found if the
means for supporting such missions were available.
It was my earnest desire, in writing this book, to
obtain sympathy and help for the Church of France
from the wealthy and flourishing churches of Great
Britain and America. The Rev . M. Cassalis , Directeur
de la Maison des Missions , 26 Rue des Fosses, St.
Jacque, Paris, who was himself for many years a
missionary among the Basutos, would be thankful
to receive any help for this Mission.
I need offer no apology for giving the honoured
title of ‘ The Church of France ’ to that body of
Christians which has suffered so much for the name
of the Lord Jesus in that land during the last eight
hundred years. I love the truth, and I love France
too well to call by that holy name the foreign
ecclesiastical system which has so long arrogated it,
at the same time bathing its hands in innocent
blood, and denying the gospel of grace and love.
This system of priestcraft having substituted the
dogmas of various Italian men for the word of
Xll
PREFACE.
.God, has withheld that blessed hook from the people
of France. To the fact that God’s word has been
proscribed and its teaching forbidden in France,
while that hook was open and its truths taught,
however imperfectly, to the people of England,
may he attributed the revolutions and internal dis-
orders which have of late troubled ‘ la belle France ; ’
while her English sister has been enjoying compara-
tive internal peace. The gospel of Christ is the only
light for nations as for men, and the only cure for
national as for personal sorrows.
Let the churches of Great Britain and America
now give their sister, the Church of France, a loving
welcome. Let them seek by prayer and active
sympathy to show her their love. She is slowly
recovering from the rack on which she has been
stretched for centuries. But, being truly a member
of ‘ the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth,’ she has survived
the terrible ordeal through which she has come.
She waited on the Lord in her weakness, and He
renewed her strength. She has smiled on one dark
spot of Africa in His name, and her smile has
carried with it light and life. Help her to smile
elsewhere, for her smile is love, and this is what
poor Africa needs.
May the Lord use these pages to stir up the faith
of His churches in Himself. May the perusal of
PREFACE.
Xlll
these records of His faithfulness make them more
believing in regard to the commencement and
carrying on of Foreign Missions. May He awaken
in His people more earnest desire to send His
gospel to the nations and tribes which have not
heard it ! His word to His Church stands eternally :
‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth ;
Go ye} therefore , and teach all nations: I am with you
alway! C. H. M.
Uxolo (Kaffir for Peace or Salem),
South Africa, 1875.
CONTENTS.
1‘AOK
I. A THANKSGIVING, 3
II. THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS, . . 13
^III. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE TO SOUTH
AFRICA 25
J IV. ‘THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE,’ ... 39
V. A PRINCE AND PEOPLE PREPARED OF THE LORD, . 49
^ VI. WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE
COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL, .... 61
* VII. ‘HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL,’ 81
& VIII. THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE, . 103
IX. THABA-BOSIO. — MOSHESH, CHIEF OF THE BASUTOS.
— HIS CONVERSION. — BEREA TO MABULELA, . . 139
X. MABULELA, CANA, ETC., 159
XI. THE LAND OF THE ZULU, 181
XII. UMSUNDUZI, VERULAM, INANDA, AMANZIMTOTE,
IFUMI, IFAFA, UMTWALUMI, UMZUMBE, . . 199
XIII. NATAL, EMMAUS, PIETER-MARITZBERG. — THE LAN-
GABALILE AFFAIR. — DURBAN. — BRITISH POLICY
IN NATAL, ETC., ’ 223
XIV. ‘ADVANCE.’ — SUPPORT NEEDED. — WHEREFORE DE-
LAY? 263
15
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‘ I will praise Thee, 0 Lord, among the people ; and 1 will sing
praises unto Thee among the nations : for Thy mercy is great
above the heavens, and Thy truth reacheth unto the skies. Be
Thou exalted, 0 God, above the heavens ; and Thy glory above
all the earth. ’ — Ps. cviii. 3, 4, 5.
1
CHAPTER I.
I only wish that I could impart to the whole
Church of the Lord Jesus the joy which now fills
my heart in sitting down to write for their infor-
mation and His praise a brief account of one of
the mighty works which He hath wrought in ful-
filling His blessed office as God’s salvation unto
the end of the earth.1 But this cannot be. I do,
however, hope and pray that no Christian will read
this book without being more fully persuaded that
his Lord is indeed Head over all things to His body,
the Church, and that all things are 'put under His
feet ? This faith is much needed now by the Church.
We have come to the period in which the Lord says
to her, ‘ Behold , I have set before^ thee an open door ,
and no man can shut it’ 3 Africa and all other
lands lie open before her. But she enters not in.
She believes the lies of her enemies against her own
servants, the missionaries. She doubts her Lord.
1 Isa. xlix. 6. 2 Ephes. i. 22. 3 Rev. iii. 8.
3
4
A THANKSGIVING.
She clutches her gold. The heathen perish un-
helped.
My sole desire in writing this book is to praise
the Lord, and to let His servants in Great Britain
and America know of a work which He has been
carrying on in South Africa, of which very few of
them have probably ever heard. I wish to write
simply, and I have prayed earnestly that I may not
be allowed to put in one fact or word which is not
according to the mind of the Lord. It is better
that I should let my own thoughts flow freely, that
the reader may understand more easily why the
writing of this narrative is to me such a joyful
undertaking.
From the time of my conversion and study of
God’s word, my heart has been filled with the
deepest interest in the spread of the name and
fame of the Lord Jesus throughout the whole earth.
It has been my delight to see His glorious power
manifested in the spread of His gospel. The en-
mity of man, the malice of Satan, the treachery of
pretended friends, have not been able to stay it.
‘His work is honourable and glorious!1 There is no
such study for the human soul as the work of God
in the spread of His gospel throughout the world.
‘ The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all
them that have pleasure therein.'2
1 Ps. cxi. 3. 2 Ps. cxi. 2.
A THANKSGIVING.
5
Like the merchantman seeking goodly pearls, I
have sought these glorious works of the Lord.
Again and again have I found them sparkling in all
the lustre of His divine love, wisdom, and power,
and shining all the brighter because of the clay in
which they have been imbedded. But it has now
been my happiness to find the goodliest. It is not
a large stone, but one of -purest water, and the more
valuable because of the mine in which it was found,
and the labour which has often tested the endurance
and faith of those who have had to work for the
Lord in that mine.
This is not the history of an ordinary mission.
This is not a record of any such missions as are sent
out from Great Britain and other Protestant coun-
tries. I would not detract from the value of those
great works of faith and labours of love. God is
not unrighteous, that He will forget either the
labourers or their helpers. But those missions were
sent forth from countries where all the professed
Christians sympathized with the missionaries, where
ample funds were supplied, where those who went
forth were held in honour. That of which I now
write was exactly the contrary. It exemplifies to
my mind the meaning of those words, ‘ God, my King
of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth! 1
I ask myself this question : * Will the Christians
1 Ps. lxxiv. 12.
6
A THANKSGIVING.
of England and America care to read this book; ?
Will they care to hear what the poor and long-
persecuted Church of France has been permitted to
do in the glorious work of spreading the gospel of
Christ in foreign lands ? ’ I know not. But this
I know, it is my duty to write that which His hand
hath wrought and mine eyes have seen of this work,
as a testimony to the faithfulness of the Lord and
the glory of His power in these last days, when
iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold.
Various and beautiful are the trees of salvation
which the Lord has planted in many lands. They
were brought from other climes. Very tender were
they when they were first put into the strange soil.
But He is the Husbandman. His infinite grace nur-
tured them. His unfailing knowledge guarded them
in rough seasons. They flourish according to His
will. Careless travellers do not notice the beauty
of their foliage, and altogether miss their bright
flowers. But those who have learnt to admire the
works of the Lord seek them out ; they are struck
with the manifold excellence of their growth, they
rest themselves in their travels under the shade of
these trees, and are refreshed as they inhale their
fragrance and delight in their manifold beauty.
I sit down to write notes on the Lord’s work in
South Africa by His long-despised Church of France.
My soul ranges over mountains of divine provi-
A THANKSGIVING.
7
dence. They are lighted up by love. Deep, dark
shades meet the eye as it moves from point to point
in the landscape, but a dazzling halo of glory flows
down from above, and leaves the soul in doubt as
to whether those shades are darkness or light. Such
I have often seen it in God’s works in nature. So
we should always see the shades in His works in grace
towards us, if our eyes were not holden, that we
should not know Him.
The history of the Church of France is a tale of
blood. Christians in England do not like now-
adays to hear of blood in connection with religion.
The comforts of civilisation, immunity from perse-
cution for many centuries, and easy general profes-
sion, have rendered the very thought of blood as
a possible consequence of faith a very distasteful
subject. But though this be so, they must remem-
ber that the Lord Jesus is most glorified in the death
of His servants for His name’s sake ; and that if the
Church of Christ in England has not been persecuted
as the Church of France, they owe a deep debt of
gratitude to the Lord on behalf of their land, and
no little sympathy to their sister Church.
From the rise of the Papacy down to this very
day, the Church of France has been oppressed by the
State. For many centuries its history is nothing but
a series of tales of fierce and bloody persecutions
This history is for the most part unknown. I be-
8
A THANKSGIVING.
lieve it could be easily proved that more persons
have suffered death for the name of Christ in France
than in all the other countries of Europe together.
The Inquisition in Spain glutted itself in the blood
of Moors and Jews, and these deeds of blood have
given Spain the palm as the land of martyrs. This
is, however, a mistake. They were slaughtered be-
cause they were not Christians — those in France because
they were ! This is infallible love ! Alas for the
cruelty to man ! Alas for the dishonour to the
sacred names of God and Christ ! Alas for the
darkness which in this so-called enlightened age
cannot discern between the false and the true, — be-
tween that system which has ruined Europe by open
violation of the laws of Christ, and His teaching
who gave man a new commandment, 4 That ye love
one another, as I have loved you/ and then died
for him, ‘ the just for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God.’
Since the Eevolution of 1794 the Church of
France has enjoyed immunity from bloodshed. But
it has never been free. The French nation having
delivered itself over, as to faith and doctrine, to the
dogmas of the priests of Borne, those of its com-
munity who have preferred to worship God accord-
ing to His word have had to suffer an opposition
which has never been relaxed, and has only varied
according to the influence of the priests with the
A THANKSGIVING.
9
Government and people. Persecuted for centuries,
crushed under the power of the State, at times almost
exterminated, the Church of Christ in France has
lived; and now, when the evil practices of Roman
sacerdotalism have so greatly injured the country,
God testifies to it as a vessel He has chosen unto
honour, by using it as His candlestick to one of the
noblest and most intelligent tribes of South Africa.
It is the contemplation of His wonderful dealings
in this thing — it is in meditating upon the events
of centuries ; in tracing out the terrible ordeal
through which the Lord Jesus has led His Church
in France ; in reading of the triumphant faith He
gave to its martyrs ; in admiring the patience,
endurance, and courage by which he sustained them
during those periods of blood * in watching the events
as they succeeded each other in which His Church
survives every effort at annihilation ; in seeing how,
as soon as breathing time is given it, its hope
revives, and at length, unseen, unknown, and uncared
for but by the eye bf the Lord, it sends forth life
and light to a tribe in Southern Africa, it preaches
that Christ to the Basutos for whom it has so long
suffered, and He owns its faithful testimony, — it is
in meditation on these things that my soul is filled
with a delight I cannot express, and I am caused
to lift up my heart, and take up my pen, to praise
and bless the Lord. Very feeble are all human
10
A THANKSGIVING.
efforts to praise Him. But, blessed be His holy
name, He delights in the praises of His people.
May He accept this tribute at my hands, and own
it to His glory ! To His people I would say, ‘ Oh,
magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His
name together.’ To any one who may read this
who does not believe in Him He says, ‘ Whoso is
wise, and will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving-kindness of the Lord’ (Ps.
cvii. 43).
djjurrlr anb Wfamt oi mg jfa%rs.
CHAPTER II.
It has been necessary for me to refer to the history
of the Church of France. The reader cannot under-
stand the wisdom and marvellous power of the Lord
in this work in Africa, unless it he continually home
in mind that it was after centuries of cruel oppres-
sion, and when the Church of France was looked
upon as ‘ nigh unto the grave/ that the Lord testified
to its faithfulness and life in Him, hy giving it the
service of which this book is purposed to be a
testimony.
And I cannot expect the sympathy I wish in
endeavouring to show forth the praises of the Lord,
and obtain for His Church in France the brotherly
love it needs from His Churches in Great Britain
and America, unless I can establish my right thus
to come forward as an historian of this mission.
Few have better right to this honour than myself.
Let me tell my own tale in my own way ; and if it
be considered that I have taken up my pen as an
idler and a busybody in other men’s matters, then
13
14 THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS.
let me suffer the judgment of my brethren. If,
on the other hand, it be seen that God has used
the pen of one who by spiritual descent is a child
of the Church of France, although for Christ’s sake
driven from that land, let the praise and glory these
records shall give be doubly His.
About thirty miles from Avignon in France, on the
road which runs through the valley of the Durance,
and close under the Luberon Alps, there stand at
this day the ruins of the old village of Merindol.
The new village is built nearer to the road. Across
the road, and not far from the river, is the home
of my fathers, still bearing their name, ' Les Malans.’
They lost land and life, and everything else but
eternal glory, for Christ’s sake. Very few escaped
the fire and sword. They , however , left their children
1 a good name, which is better than great riches.'
Verily God has magnified His word in our family.
‘ A good man leaveih an inheritance to his children's
children.' His best, His choicest blessing, faith in
Christ, has descended to me. With that, a Kaffir
hut in Africa is a heaven ; without it, the Pope’s
palace at Avignon would be a hell.
The history of the little village of Merindol is
a very marked page in the history of France. It
might be fairly taken as a specimen of what was
the state of affairs in that country, from the tenth to
the eighteenth century , as regards those who wor-
THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS. 15
shipped God according to His word, and would
not submit their liberty of conscience to the dogmas
which emanated from Rome.
What is the source of all the misery and blood-
shed which has come upon France since the Revo-
lution of 1794? Study the domestic history of
that land for the previous eight hundred years. The
nation lending itself to a system of foreign priest-
craft, made it death for any citizen to believe God’s
word ; and thus the light which gave civil and
religious liberty to other lands was quenched in
France. This, and the actual slaughter of tens
of thousands of inoffensive subjects for no crime
but worshipping God, is the cause of all her present
sorrows. There is a needs-be for reference to these
times, and that the attention of men should be
drawn to them. God speaks in history. He
vindicates His word in history. Infidels sit in
their rooms, and wear out their brains with theories
of ' evolution ’ and ‘ matter.’ It would be far better
for them to take God’s word, and compare it with
the history of the nations of Europe. If they did
so, if they understood His word, and knew the
history of England, France, Spain, Italy, and
Germany, they would be obliged to confess : 4 The
Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God.’
' He is the God that answereth by fire!
Christians in England would do well to read a
16 THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS.
few pages of the history of the Church of France.
They are not half thankful for the centuries of peace
and blessing their land has enjoyed. I trust that the
perusal of this page of French history, concerning
the Church and home of my fathers, will cause
many a heart in England to praise God for past
mercies to the nation, and to sympathize with the
missionary efforts of the long-persecuted Church
of France.
The following extracts are taken from the
History of the French Reformation, , by F. Puaux,
Paris, 1859, vol. i. page 234 and following: —
‘ On the borders of the Durance, scattered in
twenty-two villages, of which Cabrieres and Merindol
were the chief, there lived a small population of
eighteen thousand souls, whom persecution had
brought from the valleys of Piedmont. For more
than two centuries they had devoted themselves
to agriculture, and were as much distinguished for
their integrity as for their dissent from the practices
of the Eomish Church, with which the Yaudois,
their ancestors, would never unite. Skilful and
persevering, they changed waste land into smiling
fields. Their existence in the midst of a Catholic
population is a fact which can only be explained
by the direct intervention of Providence on their
behalf.
‘ In 1535 the Eomish clergy, with the Arch-
THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS. 1 7
bishop of Aix at their head, decreed the extermina-
tion of this entire population as “ heretics.” But
the people of Merindol appealed to Francis I., who
granted them a respite of six months, on condition
of denying their faith. They would not accept
these terms. Some were put to death. Others
were fined. It was not, however, until 1540 that
the mass of the people were again disturbed. In
this year Merindol wTas cited in the person of its
fifteen principal inhabitants to appear before the
Parliament of Aix. Conscious of innocence, and
knowing what was the purpose of their enemies,
they did not go. On the 18th November 1540
the Court gave judgment, condemning ten of the
principal men to be burnt alive, banishing for ever
their wives, children, relatives, and servants, and
directing that Merindol should be burnt, razed, and
made desolate for ever.’
The clergy hastened the execution of this cruel
sentence. To his honour, a Boman Catholic noble-
man interfered, and even after the Archbishop of
Aix had sent off an armed band to carry the
sentence into execution, he was compelled by the
President Chassaunce to recall it. The matter came
to the ear of the King. The inhabitants of Merindol
and those villages were accused to him by the
priests as a dissolute, drunken, and rebellious popu-
lation, which it would be an advantage to the public
B
18 THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS.
to exterminate. Francis i. sent a nobleman to in-
quire into the state of that district. The Seigneur
de Langey was a nobleman who, like the Count
d’Orthey in Louis xiv.’s reign, could say, 'My
honour is my own.’ He would not lie to please
the priests. His report to the King is a matter of
French history. He describes the fields of Merindol
and the valley of the Durance as the garden of
France. In regard to the refusal of the people to
pay taxes and to serve in the army, which the
clergy had charged against them, he reports that
they were a most sober, industrious, and loyal
people; that they paid their taxes regularly, and
that the King had no braver soldiers in his army
than those which came from this district.
In consequence of this report the sentence re-
mained unexecuted for five years. The King had
annulled the judgment of the Parliament of Aix,
but again on condition of the people giving up the
faith of their fathers, the gospel of Christ. This
they would not do. Their enemies never relaxed
their efforts to obtain the King’s sanction to their
extermination. At length Francis I., doubtless
troubled in his conscience by his many sins, and
instructed that the blood of the heretics would wash
them all away, gave his consent.
On the 12th April 1545 the Baron d’Oppede,
a tiger in his thirst for blood, assembled the Parlia-
THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS. 19
ment at Aix, and read the King’s letter authorizing
the destruction of that population. On the 17 th,
18 th, and 19 th, Merindol, Cabrieres, and twenty
villages were burnt. All men, women, and chil-
dren found in them were cruelly put to death, except
a few, who were spared to serve with felons in the
galleys.
Those who had escaped by fleeing to the moun-
tains bowed before the Lord. A demand to leave
France in peace was refused. Assembled together
in one of their mountain retreats, they waited upon
God. They read His word, and then prayed the
Lord not to forsake them in their hour of need.
Silence followed the prayers.
It was broken by one of the elders, who rose and
spoke thus : ‘ The least care we should have is for
our goods and lives. What we should fear is lest , by
torture and weakness , we should deny the faith of
the Lord Jesus Christ , and of His gospel. It is for
this reason we should turn our thoughts above the
earth, and carry them to heaven, in order that God
may give us grace to persevere in His holy doctrine.
For ourselves, let us stand fast , even should all the
nations turn from the true religion and follovj Baal.
Let us stand fast, and may neither shot nor bomb
annihilate our faith.’
A second rose and said : ‘ If the Son has made us
freey we shall be free indeed. And even if we pass
20 THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS.
through the valley of the shadow of death, we will
fear no evil, for the Lord is with us ; and He hath
said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee. Let us
not, then, fear those who kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul, but let us fear Him who can cast
body and soul into hell. In place of abandoning the
law, the ordinances, and the doctrine of the gospel,
let us recall constantly those words of the Lord :
“He that shall endure to the end shall be saved ” *
The third continued the exhortation: ‘We are
here, several old men, whom the Lord has often de-
livered from great dangers. What ought we, there-
fore, now to ask Him, but that it may jplease Him to
give us all the desire to honour Him, to fear Him
with all our hearts, to put all our confidence in this,
that He will open our eyes to do His commandments
and those things1 which are agreeable to Him ? For
what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul ? Let us be ready to
die.’
A fourth then rose and said : ( If the Lord wishes
to deliver us, He will do it. Let us not, therefore, be
troubled by what man can do. Lf we must die, let
us not fear , for thd Lord will give us a heavenly
mansion, in which there is neither poverty nor
misery, sighs nor tears, but joy and eternal gladness.
Let us rejoice in our tribulation, knowing that our
sorrow shall be turned into joy. In our turn we
THE CHURCH AND HOME OF MY FATHERS. 21
shall be in joy, when the wicked shall lament and
gnash their teeth.’
After these elders had spoken, there was silence.
The meeting was deeply moved. At length the
young men spoke. The same grace was given to
them. Thus the first began : ‘ We are taught by the
Holy Scriptures to take care that none of us suffer as
a thief \ or liar, or busybody. But if we suffer as
Christians, let us not be ashamed, but let us glorify
God on this behalf!
This is a very beautiful picture. I feel sure that
every true Christian will look at it, and praise Him
whose grace shines in it, undimmed by age. It is
the only conference of the Church of my forefathers
on record. I thank the Lord that this example of
their faith and patience has been preserved as a
legacy to me.
<£(jt IPissnm of tlj t djnrrrjj of Jxana
to South §. friar.
23
C H A P T E E III.
It was after a constant succession of such events as
those narrated in the preceding chapter, — after the
terrible persecutions of Louis xiv., after the Ee volu-
tion of 1794, after the wars of Napoleon I., after
events which might well have destroyed life not
spiritual, — that the silver moon of the Church of
Christ in France rose in silent, quiet beauty, to shed
its light on the far distant land of Southern Africa.
Every step in the history of this mission is
marked to my mind by the hand of God clearly and
unmistakably. It seems as if, after its long period
of suffering, the Lord hasted to honour the faith and
patience of the Church of France.
In the year 1824, less than ten years after the
establishment of the peace which followed the wars
of the first Napoleon, the Paris Missionary Society
was founded. It was commenced in faith and hope
as an auxiliary to the missionary efforts of other
Continental Churches. But, as with individuals, so
25
26
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE
with associations of Christians in Christ’s work,
grace is added to grace, according to their faith.
A visit paid by the Eev. Dr. Philip, of the
London Missionary Society, to Paris, in the year
1828, was the origin of the Mission of the Church
of France to Southern Africa. This servant of God
had been in South Africa, and, being earnestly de-
sirous that by all means the gospel of Christ should
be spread in that land, urged upon the Paris
Missionary Society to send preachers of the word
of God thither. The Society acted on this advice ;
and in the year 1829, Holland, Lemue, and Bisseux,
ministers of the gospel of Christ, left France to
preach the name of Jesus to the heathen in the
unknown interior of that vast continent. The
relations at that time between England and France
were very different to what they are now. These
men went forth to commence a work for the Lord in
a land in which, whether from the white man or the
black, they had no right to expect anything but
opposition ; but they went forth in faith and with
prayer, to realize, as all do who act in faith with
prayer, that whatsoever they had asked in prayer,
believing, they were to receive. This is an in-
fallible rule. Brainerd, Gardiner, Henry Martin — not
one of them failed. Death is no failure in a mis-
sionary. He sows the seed of faith in other hearts ;
and if his work be not done by himself, it is by one
TO SOUTH AFRICA.
27
who is, through faith, begotten of him. Cheer up,
fellow Christians ; remember it is written, ‘ By the
greatness of His might ; for that He is strong in
power, not one faileth * 1 — not one star, material
or spiritual. Each sheds its appointed light.
From a brief but deeply interesting memoir of one
of these three brethren, M. Lemue, I shall now try
to extract such facts as will give an outline of the
commencement of the Mission of the Church of
France in Southern Africa. This record ; a valu-
able book, entitled The Basutos, written by M.
Casalis, the present Director of the Mission-house
in Paris, after twenty-three years’ labour in that
tribe; a book by M. Arbousset, another missionary;
and such details as I have been able to gather during
my visit to the missionaries in Basutoland, are my
sources of information for these notes. At the same
time, I ought to remark that this book is not written
at the request of the French missionaries, but, I
believe, at the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my
own heart, it being my desire to obtain from the
wealthy Churches of Great Britain and America
sympathy and aid for this mission of their poorer
but faithful sister, the Church of France.
The ordination of these three missionaries took
place in the Church of St. Mary, in Paris, on the 2d
May 1829. It was the first time that French Pro-
Isa,. xl. 26.
2 8 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE
testants had been vntnesses of such a spectacle. They
could realize the greatness of the blessing the
Lord had now vouchsafed to their long-oppressed
Church. It was not forgotten that in 1656 fourteen
missionaries of the Church of France had gone to the
Brazils. But they left their land under the fire of
persecution, and it had been out of the question to
set them apart publicly for the service of God in a
city which was soon to witness the Massacre of St.
Bartholomew. The occasion was one of deep
solemnity. After the service and address of the
Director of the Mission-house, Lemue spoke for his
brethren, at their request. A few passages from his
discourses will show the humility, self-denial, and
faith in God, with which the first missionaries of the
Church of France to South Africa went forth. ‘ We
know that wc are, in every respect , unworthy to be called
to become ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Who are we,
to go and exercise a ministry of holiness and love
among the heathen ? We cannot ignore that we
shall one dap have to render an accowht of our
administration. In experiencing the need of hum-
bling ourselves before God, and confessing our
weakness before men, we feel, however, that the
unhappy condition of the heathen calls us amongst
them, and that to refuse to carry them the gospel
would be to unburden ourselves of the Cross of Christ.
We are Christians, and wc ought to leave all to go
TO SOUTH AFRICA.
29
and teach these men , so long abandoned , that our
Saviour is also their Saviour. This was done for us
in the olden time by our brothers of Asia , when they
came to us for the first time , to bring us the gospel at
the peril of their lives. Freely have we received the
gospel, freely ought we to give it. Even as to-day we
should be the most miserable of men if it were not per-
mitted us to hope in the promises of the gospel, and to
adore Jesus Christ as our Master, so are we compelled
to go and publish the mercy of the Lord, — to teach the
heathen that He became poor that we might be made
rich. It is in God alone that we place our hope. It
is from Him alone v:e expect any success. Full of
confidence in such a Master, from this day we heartily
leave all we hold dearest in this world to follow Him.
We renounce with joy our parents, our friends, our
country, and even our brothers and sisters in the faith.
It is into His arms we cast ourselves for the future,
persuaded that He will not leave us orphans, though
we lose you all in one day!*
Here was a testimony of faith ! It witnesses for
the Lord, even now, that He had not forsaken His
Church in France. For forty years He sustained
His servant who spoke these words amid the trials
of a missionary’s life in Africa; and when at last He
called him home, his departure for eternal glory was
a glorious victory. As his last hour approached, his
wife asked him whether he felt near the valley of the
30 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE
shadow of death. ‘ I am in it / he answered. * Lord ,
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace / was
then her prayer. ‘ Yes/ he added, ‘for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation .’
The conversion and call to the ministry of this
servant of God are proofs of that which it is the
object of this book to prove, that the Lord has in a
very marked manner interfered in behalf of this
mission. Nothing but a lifeless formalism reigned
where Lemue was born and brought up. Meetings
were organized to read the word of God. Lemue
attended them. The minister was first converted ;
Lemue came next. The Lord revealed Himself to
him very fully, drawing him to Himself in obedience
and self-denial. With another friend he determined
to give himself to the Lord. As their parish could
only be visited once in six weeks by the minister, at
the request of friends Lemue and his companion
conducted the meetings for the study of God’s word.
He acquitted himself to the satisfaction of all. He
was then eighteen years old. ‘ This circumstance,
apparently fortuitous, contributed to reveal to both
of us our vocation to the holy ministry of the word.’
Two inteiTuptions occurred to try the reality of
Lemue’ s desire for the mission work. One was the
temporary break-up of the Mission-house ; the
other his being drawn by conscription in his
twentieth year. This was a great trial, but he did
TO SOUTH AFRICA.
31
not lose courage, and devoted himself to preaching
the gospel to his comrades. His colonel let him
have his own way. ‘ You are not in your right place
among us/ he said to him. At the end of three
months a substitute was found, and Lemue returned
to the Mission-house, to he none the worse missionary
for having stood fire in a barrack-room.
I have been insensibly drawn away by these de-
tails connected with the sending forth of the first
missionaries of the Church of France in Africa. They
are facts which ought not to be omitted in the history
of any mission. It is the grace of God , the 'providence
of God , and the power of God, which are the chief interest
in all the varied histories of the planting of the gospel
among the heathen. Were the souls of Christ’s
people quickened to observe these things in foreign
mission work, they would be far more earnest in
prayer, and more liberal in giving for the support of
missions. There is a holy, healthy exercise of soul
in reading of the Lord's working with His servants,
which pictures of cannibal kings, roaring lions,
heathen feasts, or wholesale conversions cannot
possibly afford. One is dwelling in the secret place of
the Most High — the other is descending to this world.
One is the contemplation in adoring wonder, as in
heaven , of the Lord doing His own work — the other is
the mere spectacle on earth of the result of that
work !
32 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE
Let us travel to the Cape of Good Hope, whither
the three children of France and of God 'were hound.
The Lord had gone before them. He had arranged
no ordinary welcome for his servants. Hot far from
Cape Town He had planted in 1698 a colony of
His children, who had escaped from France to Hol-
land at the revocation of the Edict of Hantes. The
Cape of Good Hope was at that time the possession
of the Dutch. The Government of Holland allowed
the French refugees to emigrate to South Africa.
Many availed themselves of it; and I could not help
feeling, when I visited this colony last year, how
graciously the Lord had shielded, for two centuries, in
the lovely valley of Wellington, South Africa, the
children of those who had forsaken homes and lands
for His name’s sake. The history of this colony is
summed up in these "words: ‘ They are minished and
brought low through oppression , affliction , and sorrow.
He poureth contempt on princes ’ (Louis xiv., and all
slaves of priests). f Yet setteth He the poor on high
from affliction, and maketh Him families like a flock.
The righteous shall see it, and rejoice; and all iniguity
shall stop her mouth.' 1
The descendants of the French refugees gave the
three representatives of the Church of France a
hearty welcome. ‘ When two brothers meet after a
long separation, what deep emotions fill their hearts —
1 Ps. cvii. 39-42.
TO SOUTH AFRICA.
33
what joy they feel in seeing each other once more !
Your fathers are our fathers. The same country
gave birth to our ancestors ; and more than this, we
raise our eyes together to the same heavenly home.
How rejoiced would be those holy men who for the love
of the religion of Jesus Christ exiled themselves from
their dear France , and sought in strange lands that
refuge from persecution which their country denied
them , if they were witnesses of what is passing in this
assembly .’ Perhaps they were permitted to look
down on that meeting. We are forbidden by God’s
word ‘ to intrude into those things which we have
not seen.’1 We may, however, believe, without
' worshipping angels,’ that the spirits of the redeemed
are permitted, according to the will of God, to know
something of those they loved on earth, who are being
kept by the power of God through faith unto salva-
tion. The words spoken were those of Lemue. He
praised the Lord for having again visited His Church
of France. ' God has done great things for France.
He has caused the torch of evangelical truth to
shine amongst us with a new lustre.’ He exhorted
his brethren to encourage each other in the work of
the Lord.
It is delightful to witness the double purpose of
blessing in the sending forth of the missionaries of
the Church of France to South Africa. His name
1 Col. ii. 18.
c
34 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, as well as
The Mighty God. Not only did the Lord purpose
blessing to the tribes of South Africa by their means,
but also to the children of His servants, who had lost
all in France for His name’s sake. The descendants
of the French refugees insisted that one of the mis-
sionaries should remain to build up again the Church
of France in their midst. The appeal could not be
refused. M. Bisseux was chosen as their minister.
At that time slavery existed in the Dutch settle-
ments : the Hottentots were slaves of the European
settlers. The arrival of these preachers of the gospel
brought to those of this tribe working for the French
refugees the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God ! Thus, before the mission started for the
interior, it was permitted to plant one centre of light
in a South African tribe, and to gather together a
scattered fragment of the ancient Church of France !
Was not the hand of the Lord in all this ?
And now for a voyage of faith, which I delight to
pen. The reader can form no idea of the journey of
Lemue and Holland, unless somewhat acquainted
with South African travel and heathen chiefs. All
ideas of European roads and ways of business must
vanish. Weeks and months of wearisome marching,
delays, difficulties, hindrances unnumbered, — these
things the least that the two French brethren en-
countered. But God was with them, and they knew
TO SOUTH AFRICA;
35
it, and they went on. ‘ This is the victory that over-
cometh the world , our faith Z1
They visited various mission stations on their
way to Kaffirland. There was no lack of room along-
side the English Societies, which had then begun to
labour among the Kaffirs. But they were led of
the Lord to go to the regions beyond. They noticed
the bad feeling which existed between the Kaffirs
and English, and foresaw the wars which after-
wards took place. They decided , therefore , to seek
entirely new countries , where the name of Christ had
never been preached . I cannot but admire the grace
of God in this decision. Eaith is indeed the gift of
God, whether to lay hold on His word and the atone-
ment of Christ for the salvation of the soul, or to
journey on alone into unknown and unexplored lands
to preach the gospel. Unable, of course, to consult
the Mission Committee in Paris, the two brethren
acted in faith and prayer ; and the sequel will show
how God led them. ‘If we could have received your
directions, all our doubts would have been dissipated.
I can tell you that I have often watered with my tears
the soil of Kaffraria. It is in such moments one has
need to remember the promise , “ I am with you alway.” ’
Thus wrote Lemue.
Travelling onward, they at length reached Litakou,
which was then the last place marked on the map of
1 1 John v. 4.
36 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE.
South Africa. Moffat had already planted, not far
off, the station of Kuruman. They therefore pro-
posed to go about a hundred miles farther, to preach
the gospel to the Bahurutsi, a numerous tribe, whose
existence was at that time first known. But it was
necessary to rest a while at Kuruman, to learn the
language and make arrangements for the enterprise.
‘ Cjjtst Clings bib %st CJjra.'
1 Chron. xi. 19.
C H A P T E R IV.
The hand of the Lord had thus carried to the
very advanced posts of mission work in Southern
Africa the first missionaries of the Church of
France. Is it not delightful to see how God
honours and blesses the faith He bestows ? The
very weakness of the effort seems to call out the
energy of His power. That which He begins, He
performs. The first excursion into the country of
the Bahurutsi was made by M. Holland. He found
populations wulling to receive missionaries; but a
reign of terror existed among them. Moselekatsi,
a cruel and sanguinary tyrant, ruled them with a
rod of iron, and the people feared to receive a white
man, lest they should incur his wrath. Meanwhile
Lemue had gone on an expedition to the scattered
inhabitants of the Kalihari, a kind of small Sahara
north-west of Litakou. Let us allow him to recount
this incident in his life. It wTill serve to show that
the work of pioneers among the heathen tribes is
39
40
‘ THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE.’
not the romance which the enemies of God and His
servants try to make out.
‘ Several inhabitants of Kuruman had resolved
to undertake this journey, to make exchanges of
beads, tobacco, and other articles, for elephants’
teeth. When we saw them going to brave all sorts
of danger, without any other motive than worldly
gain, we felt ashamed to exercise less zeal in pro-
pagating the gospel. We started, M. Baillie (col-
league of M. Moffat) and I, and joined the
travellers. From the first day we had to make a
path through the desert, and to guide ourselves by
the compass. Often we had to use the hatchet to
open a way through thorny bush. By degrees the
country became drier. Immense plains of sand ex-
tended themselves before us. The heat was intense.
Water was very scarce. We had often to go a
day’s journey to get a little for the oxen. We were
always careful to consult our Bechuanas as to the
distance which separated us from the nearest water.
Our guides having assured us on leaving Malebing,
that not far from there there was water in abun-
dance, we continued our journey. Having matched
two days and one night in the hope of finding a
fountain, what was our dismay , when , having reached
the place which had been described to us, we found no
water ! Our oxen, tormented by thirst, were almost
unmanageable, and it was with great difficulty they
' THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE.’
41
could be kept in the yoke. All that could be done
was to dig in the sand. Every one set to work,
but the sand was so loose that it filled the holes as
fast as we made them. However, by dint of perse-
verance, we succeeded in excavating trenches of about
six feet in depth, into which we had the joy of seeing
the water slowly filtering. The hand of Providence
was visible on this occasion. Watching the water
oozing and rising insensibly, I said within myself,
“ Fill, 0 Lord, these trenches ; otherwise we are
dead, and the birds of prey will eat our flesh in the
desert.” For two days we were occupied in draw-
ing water in vessels for our beasts to drink. This
spot is one degree south of the tropic of Capricorn.
Ho other traveller to my knowledge had yet pene-
trated so far in this direction into the interior of the
country. Judging it would be exposing ourselves
to certain death to go any farther, we returned by
the same way we came. Arrived at Malebing, men
and women threw themselves into the water with
delight, unable sufficiently to quench their thirst
and refresh themselves. As this day was the Sab-
bath, we held service, in which our Bechuanas
showed, by their tears and sobs, the gratitude they
felt towards God for the deliverance granted to
them.’
The result of the hardship and exposure on this
occasion was a severe illness, which was at the time
42
‘ THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE.’
a very great trial of faith, and from which Lemue
continued ever after to suffer. Thus he wrote :
* What will be the result of it, God knows ; but,
humanly speaking, there is little hope of recovery.
In the circumstances in which we find ourselves, — on
the point of taking a long journey into the interior,
and commencing a new work, which requires much
labour and endurance, — this affliction is most difficult
to bear.’ The Lord did not suffer the faith of His
servant to fail, and restored to him sufficient
strength to labour on. A new fellow-workman,
M. Pellissier, arrived from France, to complete
the number of the ‘ first three ’ of the mission band
of that Church. It was determined to go to the
country of the Bahurutsi, and there preach the
gospel. The journey was performed without diffi-
culty ; and the French missionaries found themselves
in a lovely country, farther into the interior of
Southern Africa than any other mission band, and
among a numerous population, who welcomed their
arrival. * Here come our people ! ’ was the cry of
the natives. The chief of Mosiga gave them a
beautiful valley, and assisted them in their first
efforts at settling. Everything promised beyond
their utmost expectations. But they were to have a
great trial of faith ; and although the Lord granted
them the desire of their heart to be the shepherds
of this flock, it was to be by a way that they knew
‘ THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE.3
43
not of. May the record of it raise the faith of
His labouring servants who are walking in darkness
and have no light, even as it strengthens mine in
writing it !
Hardly had the missionaries commenced their
house, when messengers from the tyrant Mos414katsi
arrived, ordering them to come and appear before
him. M. Pellissier went. The natives said he
would never return. The interview was more
favourable than was expected. The crafty tyrant,
wishing to allay the fears of the Bahurutsi, received
M. Pellissier with kindness, kept him for a few
days, urged him to come and live at his great place,
and put no obstacle to his return. He had, how-
ever, hardly got back to his brethren, when other
messengers arrived commanding all three mis-
sionaries to go to Mosel^katsi. The chief of
Mosiga begged them to leave his tribe, fearful of
the vengeance of the tyrant. Natives arriving from
different places informed them that Mos£Lekatsi had
determined on their destruction. Not one of the
Bahurutsi would go with them to his camp. There
was nothing to be done but return to Litakou.
They had hardly left Mosiga when the storm burst.
‘ Africa rings with the diabolical acts of the Mate-
beles. The Barolongs are defeated. The Bechua-
nas are dispersed. The Bahurutsi took flight while
the blood of the other tribes was yet smoking.’
44
‘ THESE THINGS DID THESE THREE.’
This was Lemue’s brief record of the close of the
first part of their mission. But it had not been in
vain.
The second part of the story forms one of the
most beautiful narratives of missionary enterprise
I have ever read. It glorifies God. It glorifies the
Lord Jesus Christ, whose grace and love shine
throughout it.
Like their blessed Lord, the Good Shepherd, who
came from heaven to seek and to save lost man,
these faithful servants would not abandon their
flock without an effort to deliver them. They
heard that they had fled before the wolf, and Hol-
land and Lemue went to seek and to save them.
This journey was a more difficult one than any
before. For eight days they marched on towards
the east, guided by the compass. At length they
discovered the fugitives. They had wandered for
several weeks without knowing where to go, and
were dying of hunger. The good shepherds had
brought sufficient for their need. No sooner were
they recognised than a crowd surrounded them,
crying for food. Cattle were at once slaughtered,
and the perishing multitude was fed. Is not this
a picture which touches the heart ? Is not the
hand of the Lord plainly seen in bringing these two
men out from France to be the saviours of a multi-
tude in Central Southern Africa who were suffering
‘ THESE THINGS DID THESE THKEE.’
45
the consequences of heathenism ? When the
women and children had regained sufficient strength,
the good shepherds hade their flock to follow them.
What a sight for men and angels ! Two white men,
hardly knowing the country, guiding by gentle
stages, through fearful solitudes in Africa, a multi-
tude of poor black men, the majority of whom had
only then seen them for the first time ! The chiefs
behaved very well, and tried to establish order.
The Lord caused the faith and perseverance of His
servants to triumph over every difficulty. They
secured for the flock they had rescued a good recep-
tion not far from Litakou ; and without appearing to
have been conscious of it, they had thus performed
one of the most noble deeds of Christian love.
A large number of those they had rescued de-
termined to settle with the missionaries. Mr. Moffat
advised them at once to establish a station ; and
thus was founded Motito, the first mission station
of the Church of France in Southern Africa, at
eighteen miles’ distance from Kuruman.
%, |)riitcf anb |)taple prtpartb of % Iforb,
47
CHAPTEE Y.
We must now leave the three brethren, and
travel some distance eastward. While the event
narrated at the close of the previous chapter was
taking place, three more preachers of the gospel,
ministers of the Church of France, were on their
way to Africa. On their arrival at Cape Town, they
learned that their brethren had been driven away
from Mosiga ! This was very discouraging news ;
but they were soon to find out that God had been
beforehand for them in their work for Him, and
that He had prepared for His Church of France an
open and wide door elsewhere.
I delight to trace the hand of God in history and
in providence. He is indeed wonderful in counsel.
His grace, mercy, and power seem to delight to
undo all the evils of sin. If His people were not
so faithless, so blind, and so indifferent to His
works and glory, He would show them great and
mighty things. Alas ! when the pen of truth writes
D
50
A PRINCE AND PEOPLE
the history of the Church of Christ in our day, it
must write this, ‘ He did not many mighty works
there because of their unbelief/
From another branch of the Bechuana tribe than
that to which the people of Litakou, Kuruman, and
Motito belonged, the Lord called out in His great
grace a chief and people, to whom He purposed to
give His gospel by the Church of France. The
Basutos, one of the many tribes which inhabited
the country on both sides of the Maluti or Draken-
berg range of mountains, were led in a most remark-
able way, in the year 1824, from more northerly and
inaccessible quarters, to what is now marked in the
maps of South Africa as Basutoland. The record of
these events forms an interesting page in South
African history. I will endeavour to extract it
concisely from a work by M. Arbousset, one of the
second three who came out to labour in the French
Mission.
Some years previous to 1824, Moshesh, the chief
of the Basutos, whose name will be often noticed in
these pages, attained his eighteenth year. He was
the last and most distinguished of the independent
chiefs of this tribe. In his youth a warrior, he was
renowned for his daring and courage. With his
friend and comrade, Makoniane, he concerted, in the
year 1821, a plan for raising a large Basuto empire.
At this time war raged on both sides of the
PREPARED OF THE LORD.
51
Maluti Mountains. Moshesh, however, who had
become rich by plunder, founded his * great place ’
at Boutabouta, and for some time dwelt in peace.
But a Zulu warrior, Matouane, invaded his country,
and attacked Letoulu. Moshesh sent an embassy
and presents, but in vain. Letoulu was taken.
Boutabouta was also attacked. Moshesh’s sentinels
slept. The place fell. Aided by refugees from
another tribe, Moshesh retook his capital, and this
time built his house on the top of the rock instead
of at the bottom. His enemies returned in greater
numbers. For two months they fought for the
cattle of the Basutos. At length the Basutos were
beaten, and Moshesh was besieged. So great was
the misery of the garrison, that they eat dogs, skins,
and leather. And yet Moshesh and his warriors
sang their songs, to which their enemies replied from
below !
Beduced to this extremity, Moshesh sought the
aid of a Matebele chief, who drove away his enemy,
but himself took Boutabouta , which he entered as a
friend, pillaged it, drove Moshesh and his people into
the mountains, and settled himself there. Driven
thus from his home, Moshesh led those of his people
who still followed him to what is now called Basuto-
land, and established his ‘ great place ’ at Thaba-
Bosio. None, chief of the Bapontis, received the
Basutos kindly. His village was at the bottom of
52
A PRINCE AND PEOPLE
the rock. Moshesh and the Basutos built theirs
at the top. Alas for heathenism, whether infidel
communism in Europe, or barbarism in Africa,
it knows no laws, human or divine ! Moshesh’ s
brothers, against his will, attacked their host. He
called in a band of Manguaui to help him. They
tried to plunder him instead of his enemies, but were
repulsed. Hone was again attacked by the Basutos.
This time, I am sorry to say, Moshesh joined his
brothers. Hone was driven from Basutoland.
Moshesh now sought peace and alliance with his
old enemy, Matouane. He sent him many pre-
sents. Embassies were exchanged. But before
long Moshesh was informed that an army under
Moselane, one of Matouane’s chiefs, was advancing
against Thaba - Bosio. He called together his
warriors. ‘ Friends, to-morrow we must fight, and
one cannot help the other [referring to the extent
of mountain to be defended]. I invited the Man-
guauis to settle in my country, but they are my
enemies. Guard well to-night the approaches to
your kraal. At break of day, if the enemy attack
us, let us defend ourselves with courage. They say
he is strong. Is he invincible V Hext day a battle
was fought. As the armies closed, a Matebele
warrior left the ranks, and, raising his shield, defied
the Basutos. "What is that V he said in derision.
Moshesh with one blow laid him at his feet.
PREPARED OF THE LORD.
53
I have made no attempt to describe these wars.
I have recorded Moshesh’s speech, for it appeals to
me as a soldier of Christ Jesus in the battle now
raging against the powers of darkness. I have
recorded the single combat, for it is an emblem of
how my Chief fights for me.
The history now closes. Matouane was attacked
and defeated by a Zulu chief. He himself was
tortured, and his whole tribe, men, women, and
children, put to death ! Does not this state of things
in Africa , where the light of the gospel has not yet
shone , call for mercy from the Churches of Christ ?
One terrible result of all these wars was, that the
people, unable to cultivate their fields, were re-
duced to great extremities for food ; and at the time
the missionaries of the Church of France entered
Basutoland, the Maluti Mountains were infested
with cannibals !
Moshesh was repeatedly attacked by the Koraunas,
and by other tribes, but they could not capture
his citadel, Thaba-Bosio. The constant defeats of
his enemies, and two successful expeditions against
the Tauiboukies, obtained for him the reputation of
a great and wise chief. Scattered fragments of
many tribes sought protection under his power.
He invited those Basutos who had fled to Natal
and the Colony to come to his land. Thus he
gathered together in one large district a numerous
54
A PRINCE AND PEOPLE
population, worn out with war, thoroughly humbled
by constant famine and misery, and anxious to live
in peace.
Eight years after he had thus moved into Basuto-
land, a Hottentot, who had lived with English
missionaries, came to hunt in Moshesh’ s land. The
chief sent for him. The Hottentot told him of the
Christian religion, and that that alone could give
peace and prosperity to the people of Africa.
Moshesh listened. He had grown tired of war,
and was very desirous to preserve his people in
peace. He made the Hottentot promise that he
would try to find a teacher for his people. After
his visitor had gone, fearing he had forgotten his
promise, he sent a deputation to the great chief of the
whites, with a present of two hundred oxen, praying
him to send him back, in exchange for the cattle , men
capable of teaching the blacks. After four or five
days’ march, the embassy was attacked, and the
oxen taken. This did not discourage Moshesh. By
the same or another Hottentot, he sent a second
request for a man of prayer. The message was
brought to Dr. Philip, who was at that time
missionary at Philipolis.
I trust that I have not wearied the reader in the
record of these events. In themselves, as matters of
African history, they are not very interesting ; but
regarded as events watched and overruled by the
PREPARED OF THE LORD.
55
providence of God, to prepare a field for His gospel,
they deserve attention. To me all history, especially
that which concerns the Church of Christ, is like a
bouquet of flowers. Each leaf, each petal, is replete
with beauty. The delicate veins, the exquisite tints,
are marked with divine perfection. I could spend
hours in admiring their exquisite workmanship.
This I hope to do in Paradise, hut not now, for we
must occupy until the Lord comes.
God had prepared the field, and He had prepared
the workmen. This was the field He had from all
eternity decreed for His faithful Church of France.
Moshesh sent his request for a missionary at the
same time that MM. Arhousset, Casalis, and Gosselin,
three preachers of the gospel from France, arrived in
South Africa. Hearing of the trial which had be-
fallen their brethren who had preceded them, hut
not of the establishment of the station of Motito,
they travelled on, not knowing whither they were
to go. On arrival at Philipolis, they learned from
Dr. Philip that the chief of the Basutos desired
preachers of the word of God. They could not
doubt the hand of the Lord in this thing. They
found the Hottentot who had brought the message
of Moshesh, and he offered to guide them to
Basutoland.
It was in the month of July 1833 that the
three missionaries of the Church of France arrived
56
A PRINCE AND PEOPLE
at Thaba - Bosio. Moshesh gave them a warm
welcome. He himself helped them to choose a
site for their station, and appointed two of his
sons to take care of them. In writing this, I must
guard the reader from thinking that Moshesh was
anything more than a heathen. He knew nothing
of the gospel, its holy demands, its blessed laws.
He only thought of the benefits of civilisation for
his people. One of his chiefs, afterwards converted,
reminded Moshesh, who attended his baptism : ‘ You
told me, when you bid me take care of the mission-
ary, that I was only to put one foot into the church,
and keep the other out ; that I was only to listen with
one ear, and keep the other closed. I put one foot
into the church, but I could not keep the other out.
The love of Jesus drew me in! Then followed a
most beautiful ascription of praise to the Lord
J esus.
The station thus pointed out by Moshesh was
named Morijah, the French word for Moriah, where
the father of Israel offered up his son. Soon after-
wards, M. Casalis went to live at Thaba-Bosio,
and formed a second station there, M. Arbousset
and M. Gosselin remaining at Morijah. As these
places will be referred to in my diary, I will not
here describe them.
Having thus traced the wonderful way in which
the Mission of the Church of France was introduced
PREPARED OF THE LORD.
57
into Basutoland, let us return to the ‘ first three/
whom we left in charge of their rescued flock at
Motito. It was in the year 1833, the same year
that the mission arrived in Basutoland, that Motito
had been founded. The work at this station was
not sufficient for the three brethren. They saw the
importance of having as many of their labours as
possible in Basutoland. It was therefore arranged
that Lemue should remain in charge of Motito.
Bolland and Pellissier joined the Basuto mission,
and founded the two stations of Bethulie and
Beersheba. The Lord did not leave His servant
Lemue alone. He sent him at this juncture a
companion worthy of sharing his labours, — one of
the daughters of M. Colani, his spiritual father.
Soon after this, M. and Mdme. Lauga came to assist
him in the work. He laboured here with very
great faithfulness until 1848, when the voice of
his brethren, who desired his counsel and sympathy,
called him down to Basutoland. His name to this
day is beloved by the people of Motito. While
living there, a tribe of Koraunas, who had received
some knowledge of Christianity, claimed his in-
struction. Although it was several days’ march to
Mamousa, he visited them regularly, and delighted
to spend weeks at a time among them. There, too,
his name is greatly loved.
I cannot attempt to write a history of the
58
A PRINCE AND PEOPLE.
Mission of the Church of France in South Africa.
It will suffice the Christian reader to know how it
was planted in Basutoland ; and he would rather
read what I saw with my own eyes, than have
to peruse a long statement of facts. In visiting
the various stations, much of the history and pro-
gress of the mission will he narrated. I therefore
purpose to give a short general sketch of the
mission, in order to record some of the perils and
dangers through which it has been brought by
the mighty arm of the Lord. He that hath begun
a good work performs it according to His will, in
nations as in man.
ffitbo hxorkefjr all Clings aaortung to tbo
Couirstl of Its ohm ®ill.
59
CHAPTER VI.
‘ Arm yourselves with the same mind is a needful
caution for Christians when they either read or
write of mission work. If we do not look on
God’s work with God’s mind, as revealed to us
in His holy word, how can we understand it ? It
has been the neglect of this which, for the most
part, has led to so much indifference on the part
of the Church of Christ as to His command, ‘ Go
ye into all the world , and preach the gospel,’ and
as to the salvation of the millions yet in darkness,
for whom Christ died.
Remember, then, first of all, that it is declared
in God’s word that ‘ the heart is deceitfid above all
things , and desperately wicked ,’ and that this is the
case of all men , white and black. There is no
difference, no exception. It is ignorance of this
which makes so many professing Christians wonder
at the apparently slow progress of the gospel. ‘ Not
by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit * This is
61
62
WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
God’s rule in every conversion, whether in England
or Africa..
Kemember, again, that in this dispensation the
Church of Christ is being gathered out from among
the nations. God is non. ; visiting the Gentiles, ‘ to
take out of them a people for His name.’ One Jew,
one Gentile, one European, one Asiatic, one African,
one American, one from the Isles of the Sea. One
by one they are being gathered in, day by day , until
the elect remnant of Israel and the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in. Then the Lord Jesus will
come and take us unto Himself. ‘ The earth shall be
filled with the knowledge ' of the glory of the Lord,
as the VMters cover the sea! This shall be ; but
not until woe has been meted out ‘ to him that
buildeth a town with blood , and stablisheth a city with
iniquity] — even the fourth kingdom, Europe, which
has thus established its empire in Asia, Africa, and
America. * Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands
unto God;' but not until He has rebuked the company
of spearmen, and scattered the people that delight in
war', even the nations of Europe. 0 Lord, give
Thy servants in these days grace to read Thy whole
word, and not one text only.
I dared not write on this subject without giving
this caution. To the nominal or careless Christian,
the work of missions to the heathen of Asia and
Africa has been a great failure. To the Christian
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
63
instructed by the word of God, and at all ac-
quainted with His work in these lands, it has been
a marvellous and glorious success, far beyond all
calculations of human thought or expectation. Con-
sidering the smallness of the means, the apathy and
indifference of the mass of professing Christians,
and the almost entire absence of prayer for foreign
missions among the Churches at home, the spread
of the gospel throughout the world during the last
fifty years can be only accounted for by one
qualified to judge what has been done, as a mani-
fest and powerful work of the Holy Ghost in these
last days.
The Basuto tribe, to whom the Lord sent His
Church of France, like most African races, was sunk
in the grossest heathenism — no knowledge of any-
thing spiritual but an evil being, propitiated by sacri-
fices and witch-doctors. The people were slaves to
witchcraft and superstition. Those who know any-
thing of the heathenism of Africa wonder at the
depths of sin. In India and China they are seen
too sadly. In Africa, however, it is far worse. I
have often told the people, when preaching to them,
that if such things were done by our nation as they
do in the sight of the sun, we should expect fire to
come down from heaven and destroy us.
For five years the servants of the Lord preached
the gospel to the Basuto heathen without making one
64 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
convert to the name of Christ. But the people came
to hear the word of God. ‘ Is not my word like as
a fire ? saith the Lord/ Yes, it is. He was pleased
to try the patience of His servants ; but, according
to His promise, as they did not faint, in due season
they reaped. The name of Jesus, Saviour, became
precious in many a heart in Basutoland. The
baptisms of converts were attended by crowds, who
listened in wonder to their confessions of faith. The
faithfulness of the native Christians in refusing all
adhesion to heathen customs, and hearing the perse-
cution consequent, compelled the respect, though it
did not lessen the anger, of the heathen. Moshesh,
the chief, from the very first, gave the missionaries
his staunch support. He regularly attended their
preaching. The result was his conversion, not long
before his death. Of this, from all I have heard, I
have not the least doubt.
Ho time was lost in trying to educate the natives.
The alphabet, reading-books, a catechism, a book of
hymns, and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and J ohn,
with other portions of Scripture — translated into their
own language as the missionaries were able to attain
it — were by degrees their first labours. The Basutos
are naturally much quicker at learning than the Kaffirs,
and many soon learned to read. These excited in
others the desire to learn, and many spent day and
night in their efforts to gain so much knowledge.
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
65
The account given by M. Casalis of the first efforts
to instruct the people is very amusing. ‘ Having
printed some spelling books and a catechism, a school
was opened. Old and young were invited to attend
it. This they did with great unwillingness, protesting
that it was ridiculous to hope that a black could ever
be clever enough to make the paper speak ! But in
spite of these grave doubts, some began to make
progress. At length, one morning some ten of the
scholars discovered that they could make out the
meaning of some sentences they had never before
tried to read. This created great excitement. The
witch-doctors declared that we had changed the
hearts of the people by magic water. No one listened
to them.
‘ Moshesh’s father was yet alive. He was a super-
stitious old man, who declared that the only good
thing the missionaries had brought to the Basutos
was sugar. When we tried to speak to him he
ridiculed our youth, and told us to go and fetch our
fathers to teach him. The report of the marvels
which had taken place in the school reached his ears.
He laughed at what he heard ; Moshesh himself was
indignant at his father’s obstinacy. Profiting one day
by our presence, he turned the conversation on read-
ing. “ Lies , lies, ” said the old man ; “ I luill never
believe that a word can become visible ” “ You do not
yet believe ? ” said the son ; “ we will prove it to you.”
E
66 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
He told one of the best readers to go to some distance.
“ How,” said he to his father, “ think of something
and say it to the white man ; he will make some
marks on this robe.” The words were written. The
village Solomon was called, who did not hesitate to
read to his chief all he had just said ! The old man
was stupified ; covered his mouth with his hand ;
looked from one to the other, to see that he had not
been taken to wonderland. At last he spoke, and
poured on his family and subjects all possible repro-
bation for not having informed him of the wonders
which were taking place in his country. “ What ! ”
said he to Moshesh, “ are you not my eyes and ears,
and you hide from me these things ? ” Moshesh pro-
tested, and reminded him that he had told him of it
a hundred times. The irritable old man would accept
no apology/
Various and most interesting were the steps by
which the spread of the gospel and the education of
the people went hand in hand ; but I must pass them
by, and give a general sketch of what followed after
the work had been fairly begun. Other missionaries
arrived from France at varied intervals, and other
stations were formed. The word of God was sent
to other tribes than the Basutos, — the tribes which,
attracted by the name of Moshesh, came to dwell
under his rule^
The formation of a new station or out-station is
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
67
always an occasion in which the manners and cus-
toms of the African — his heathenism excepted — are
seen to most advantage. The chief comes, and calls
all his people. A description of one will enable the
reader to suppose he has been to alL Imagine your-
self, on a bright, balmy English summer’s day, in a
brilliantly green country. Grand broken mountains
in every variety of form, hut mostly coronetted and
table-shaped, are around you. A large crowd of
black men in skins and blankets — one or two white
men in their midst. The white man speaks to the
people, and then says, "Let us pray.’ He uncovers his
head; the natives cover their faces. He asks God, in
the name of Christ, to cause the light of His gospel
to shine down on this place, and into many hard
hearts! If there are any native Christians present,
a hymn is sung. The voices are good, and the singing
grand. The heathen join in the tune very often
when they do not care for the words. The white
man gives his message of love, urging the people to
attend the preaching of God’s word, and to believe
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour. Go
there a few years afterwards, and you see on that spot
a house of prayer and a school, and receive a Christian
welcome.
Thus it was, doubtless, when the station of
Mekuatling was opened by the Mission of the Church
of France in Basutoland. This was a branch mission
6 8 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
to the Bataungs, a tribe intermixed with the Basutos.
M. Haumas and his wife were sent to this tribe.
Accompanied by some of his brethren, he met the
chief, Makoana, and his people. After the white
men had spoken, thus spake Makoana: ‘ My lords
[literal translation], — When you passed Eutikoa, in the
moon of May , and assured me that you intended to
teach me, I said to myself, “These white men can lie
as well as wef and I did not believe you, especially
when I saw you leave so soon. To-day I think other-
wise. This place shall be mine. It is good. I will
come here with all my family / f Makoana,’ replied
his white friends, £ onr hearts will be glad to see you,
for you and your people are very dear to us/ Thus
the gospel of Christ carries peace on earth and good-
will towards men, where, but for it, there would only
be a war of extermination between the white and
the black !
I must, however, remark, that it is not often that
heathen chiefs act like Moshesh and Makoana. The
Lord, doubtless, heard the prayers of His people, and
put His good Spirit in them.
From the arrival of the first missionaries in Basuto-
land, in 1833, to 1848, there were no wars. Perfect
peace reigned throughout the land. The Mission of
the Church of France experienced — what is usual in
most mission fields — a time of sowing, a time of reap-
ing, a time of blessing, and then a time of apparent
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
69
declension. The work seemed to stop ! Some went
back from the faith. The establishment of the British
Government in what was called ‘ the Sovereignty/
now the Free State, in 1845, led to great disorders
among the surrounding tribes. In these the people
of Moshesh suffered. Each tribe hoped for British
aid, and made war on the others. I am not writing
a political work, but I will remark that, if it was a
mistake for the British Government to take charge of
that country in 1845, it was a far greater mistake
to give it up in 1855. They left many tribes of
Africans to the mercy of the Boers, and gave rise to
more bloodshed by retiring than they had caused by
advancing. However, the Lord reigneth, and He
overrules all the folly of man, and the blunders of
Governments, for the glory of His name and the good
of His Church. The troubles came on the Basutos
just at the right time. The young Church was becom-
ing drowsy, and the heathen were beginning openly
to scoff at the word of God !
I have thought it hardly worth while to note, that
when the missionaries first came into Basutoland they
were troubled by wild beasts. A lion had his den
in the rock above Morija. After eating some of the
cattle, they were obliged to hunt him. They killed
the lioness, and he went away. Hyenas then swarmed
around them, — the consequence of the wars which had
desolated the land. As peace flourished, and the
70 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
population flocked into the country, the wild beasts
withdrew. This was their first trial. A long period
of comparative quiet, and they were to be tried by a
second war. In 1 8 5 2 one of those petty wTars, which
England might often avoid by a more careful selection
of its representatives among alien races, took place
between the British Government and the Basutos.
A battle was fought. The British troops withdrew.
This was followed soon after by the abandonment of
the f Sovereignty,’ now the Free State. As soon as
the British gave it up, the Boers established them-
selves in it; and from 1855 to 1858, when war was
declared with the Basutos, there was nothing but
continual marauding expeditions between them. The
Boers were beaten by the Basutos. A very broken
peace was maintained from that time until 1865,
when a serious war began, which lasted for three
years, and ended in the Basutos placing themselves
under British protection.
In all these wars the missionaries, of course, were
exposed to many and great dangers. Each side
suspects the missionary of being a spy, or of favour-
ing the others — the white man, because he is
the friend of the black ; the black man, because
he is the brother of the white. He is between
a cross fire, and very often, but for the gracious
protection of the Lord, would be the victim of
passions which, in war time, are beyond human
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
71
restraint. During the last two wars the mis-
sionaries were driven out of the country by the
Boers. M. Arbousset, who was at Morija, had to
fly at the peril of his life, and for four days wan-
dered, with his daughter, in the snow across the
mountains. From the Boers the missionaries re-
ceived little or no consideration. It is, however,
pleasant to observe in the correspondence of Sir
George Cathcart, who commanded the British troops
in the war of 1852, the following remark : — ‘ A
third advantage, among many, resulting from my
visit to Platberg, was that of making the acquaint-
ance of M. Casalis and the other gentlemen of the
French Mission, who, from their conversation, as
well as good works, I have learnt to know, are
loyally disposed towards the British Government,
and sincere well-wishers to, and promoters of, the
cause of peace.’
And now let us praise the Lord, who is ever the
same ! As in Madagascar, so in Basutoland ; when
the missionaries were driven out, when war, famine, and
misery prevailed, the Church most thrived. The three
years from June 1865 to June 1868 was the period
of a marvellous revival throughout all the churches
in Basutoland. The Lord raised up in the native
churches evangelists and pastors, who fed the scat-
tered flocks, and preached His gospel to their fellow-
countrymen. The result was, that at the end of the
72 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
war all the churches had largely increased. When
the missionaries were able to return, one evangelist
brought, as a present to his minister, one hundred
souls he had gathered in and taught while taking
refuge in the mountains from the enemies of his
country. Prayer was maintained daily by the Chris-
tians throughout all that time of trial; and as an
old soldier, who has studied the history of wars
from my youth, I can only account for the mar-
vellous deliverances which God vouchsafed to the
Basutos, and the fact that they are yet a people,
and flourishing under the British Government, as
direct answers to the prayers of the Basuto Church.
In addition to these times of trial, which are
more easily imagined than described, the mission-
aries of the Church of France had to go through
an ordeal of another kind, which ought not to be
omitted in this notice. In consequence of the Be-
volution of 1848, and the various political troubles
in France, this mission was often placed in great
pecuniary difficulty. It is good to see the miser-
able failure of man, and the bountiful mercy of the
Lord on such occasions. The agent of the French
Mission in Cape Town was obliged to refuse pay-
ment of all orders from the missionaries. He
only obeyed orders, whence received I will not
tell. They were reduced to great straits. But the
Lord raised them up friends in Cape Town, and
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
73
from India, Holland, and elsewhere, sent them
£2000.
During the fifteen years of peace which followed
their arrival in Basutoland, these preachers of the
gospel laboured with great zeal and faithfulness.
Hot having at their command the sums of money
by which their brethren in other Churches are aided,
they could not have succeeded as they did if the
Lord had not sent out among their number some
excellent artisan missionaries. With their help
mission-houses, schools, and places of worship were
built, at little more than the cost of the wood, iron,
and glass. Hot only this : they taught the Basutos
to build. Having visited other Kaffir tribes, I was
astonished at the number of the cottages I found
in Basutoland. Thus the Lord overruled the very
poverty of His Church of France in benefit to the
tribe to whom He sent it.
By the two wars with the Boers Moshesh lost a
part of his country, in which the mission had planted
the stations of Bethulie, Beersheba, Hebron, Mabu-
lela, and Mekuatling. All these stations but that
of Mabulela had to be abandoned. The Boers
allowed the buildings and property to be sold.
This could not, however, make up for the great loss
to the Church of France of four of its stations. The
Lord’s will in the matter, returning to Moshesh,
in the loss of his land, that which in his youth he
74 WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
had so often inflicted on others, is sufficient explana-
tion. Doubtless, in the removal of the churches
from those stations He had purposes of mercy to
other places yet to he unfolded.
The names of those servants of the Church of
France who have laboured in the gospel in South
Africa should not he omitted in this notice. The
year in which they arrived in Africa will follow
their names : —
Bisseux, Lemue, Holland, 1829.
Pellissier, 1831.
Arbousset, Casalis, Gosselin, 1833.
Daumas, Lauga, 1836.
Dyke, 1837, joined the Mission 1839.
Maeder, 1838.
Maitin, Schrumf, 1843.
Keck, Dr. Lautry, 1845.
Cochet, Fredeau, 1846.
Jousse, 1850.
CoiLLARD, 1858.
Germond, Mabille, 1859.
Ellenberger, 1861.
Du Yoisin, Rolland (son of the above), 1862.
Dr. Casalis (son of the above), 1864.
Preen, Creux, 1872.
Berthoud, Kohler, 1873.
Of these, Lemue, Holland, Pellissier, Daumas,
Gosselin, and Fredeau fell asleep in Africa, only one
of them ever returning again to France. Arbousset,
Casalis, Lauga, and Schrumf, after many years’
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
75
labour, have retired, and are working for the Lord
in their native land. Holland has retired, and
remains in Africa. The remainder are, by the help
of the Lord, still carrying on the work of the mission.
Creux and Berthoud are missionaries of the Church
of the Canton de Yaud, who have laboured with
their brethren of the Church of France. They are
now going to the regions beyond.
The stations of the mission at present in and
near Basutoland are Masitisi, Bethesda, Siloe,
Thabena Morena, Hermon, Morija, Thaba-Bosio,
Berea, Mabulela, Cana, and Leribe. Motito was
handed over to the London Missionary Society in
1870.
It has been a great pleasure to me thus briefly to
trace the hand of the Lord towards His Church in
France, and to record how the efforts of that Church,
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, were pre-
vented (gone before), directed, supported, and pro-
tected in its mission to the heathen in South Africa.
The word came not to the Basutos in word only,
but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much
assurance.
Listen to one of them while he pours out the secret
thoughts of a heart once in the deepest heathen
darkness, now enlightened with the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ! Who
is he ? He is Makoniane , who planned with Moshesli
76
WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS ACCORDING
the founding of the Basuto empire. He is the war-
rior to whom Moshesh said, * You are my right arm.’
He is the Hey of Moshesh’s armies, his favourite
general. His fire and his pride all gone, he sits at
the feet of Jesus, and hears His words. Thus he
speaks :
*' Sin was personified in me. I have committed
every sort of crime. My bloody hand has killed
not less than forty shepherds, whose only wrong was
the possession of their herds. I do not count those
I have wounded, nor the cannibals I have exter-
minated— I who in part reduced them to the terrible
alternative of dying of hunger or eating their sons
and their wives. Often when my minister preached,
I imagined, as I listened, that he was detailing my
sins. I often wished him to stop. It seemed to
me he went too far. The word he spoke, which calls
itself the word of God, discovered so my nakedness —
shovjed so clearly the wounds of my soul ! I have
truly a heart of mud ; I am a worm crawling, a vile
raging insect, an atom of dust carried by the wind.
I live, and yet I do not know Him for whom I
ought to live, — the Author of my life, the God of my
salvation ! Oh, how great mercy the Lord has had
to reveal Himself to me ! Messengers of God, do not
regret leaving your country ; do not return to it on
any condition ; do not ever leave us. God has sent
you to our help. You have brought us peace. You
TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.
77
have given us life. Am I a man ? Yes, even a
Christian, since I found the healing of my soul in
the gospel of Christ. The gospel alone has made
me know what I am, and what I ought to be, — my
greatness, my littleness, my duties towards God and
towards men. This gospel speaks to me, and finds
me. It is myself He calls to Him. The grief I
have felt for my sins makes me know Him, love Him,
and bless Him. Jesus is my Saviour. This is vjhat
I believe, this I feel, this I love to hear spoken ; my
heart repeats it. He has manifested Himself to Ma-
koniane ! ’
‘|p« ahiirtlfr faithful.’
CHAP TEE VII.
* He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him :
He also will hear their cry , and will save them'1
Ask all the millions who have believed in the Lord
in past ages, ask all the assembled Church in glory,
‘ Has that word ever failed ? ’ The answer would he
one grand ‘ Ho ! ’ like the voice of mighty thunder-
ings. No! All the promises of God in Christ
Jesus are, Yea ! How can we learn the faithfulness
of God to His word except by testing His promises ?
It is to sing His praises tha/t I now write of my-
self, as I have in times past. His word demands
the public praises of His people. How He fulfilled
my desire to visit the Mission of the Church of
France in Africa is only known to Himself, and to
the angels, the ministering spirits sent forth by Him
to minister unto me, as to those who by grace are
made heirs of salvation. None of my friends have
the least idea how great was the physical weakness
in which I prepared to leave England for the ardu-
1 Ps. cxlv. 19.
F
82
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
ous work of a preacher of the gospel to the tribes
of Southern Africa. None have any idea what is
the amount of physical exertion demanded in the
faithful discharge of such an office. I knew well.
I also knew that nothing hut the almighty power
of Christ could enable me to do one day’s work.
Believing in Him, I determined that as long as I
could crawl I would go to my post. Once there, the
Lord would do as pleased Him. ‘ We labour that,
whether present or absent, we may be acceptable to
Him.’ 1 This is the only thing about which His
servants should concern themselves. ‘ Whether we
live or die, we are the Lord’s.’ 2
When I first heard of the Mission of the Church
of France in Southern Africa, when I first began to
pray for it, when I first desired to visit it, I cannot
now remember. It was certainly before this illness.
Humanly speaking, there was no prospect of my
ever seeing this mission ; but I prayed , I cried to
the Lord, that for the glory of His holy name He
would give me strength to reach my station on the
Kei. He gives exceeding abundantly, above all we
ask. So He has carried me on beyond the Bashee,
and the Orange Biver, and the rivers of Basutoland.
Thus He has fulfilled this desire ! My soul shall
make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear
thereof and be glad.
1 2 Cor. v. 9. 2 Rom xiv. 8.
' HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
83
How He blessed me from the moment I left my
house in London; how He detained me in Cape
Town for a month, that I might preach His word
there ; how He provided me a home in sickness
by the hand of His servant, a widow; how He
found me a carriage to the banks of the Kei ; how
He provided me friends, to whose kindness I owe
much; how He gave me companions in an old
Christian comrade and his wife, who kept house for
me ; how He increased my bodily strength from
day to day; how He gave me much joy in my work
for Him ; — these are things which every Christian
must know would be provided according to my need.
‘ I bare you on eagles' wings ’ 1 was the word
which seemed to sound continually in my ears, as
hour after hour and day after day, with an un-
wearied body, a wonder to many, I rode on and on,
over the mountains and plains of Kaffirland, teach-
ing and preaching Christ. At first, riding was very
painful, because of my weakness ; but this soon
left me. Truly, I realized in very fact that they
that wait on the Lord renew their strength, they do
mount up with wings as eagles, they run and are
not weary, they walk and are not faint.
I will now carry the reader in imagination to
Basutoland. The following extracts are from my
diary, which I thus prefaced : —
1 Exod. xix. 4.
84
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
* I am led to write notes of this journey in the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, because I believe
they may be useful to the Church, whether in France
or elsewhere. Earnestly do I pray to write simply,
faithfully, and concisely, that no time may be lost
in writing, or in reading, which should be given by
me or the reader to prayer and to the word.’
Nov. 6, 1874. — Awoke in a Kaffir hut, kindly
built for me at Ngamakwe by a friend acting as
magistrate ambng the Fingo tribe of Kaffirs. The
rain pattering on the thatch did not promise a good
start on my journey; but there are few verses of
God’s word more comprehensive than this : f He that
observeth the wind shall not sow , and he that regardeth
the clouds shall not reap! It had helped me many
a time before, and it helped me now. The voice
that so often said to Israel’s leaders, f Up ! ’ seemed
to sound in my ears, and I prepared for my
journey.
Before so doing, I took a prayerful retrospect of
twenty years. It was on the 6tli November 1854
that I awoke at the Koyal Military College a
commissioned officer in the British army. What
a change had come over my life ! Then all my
thoughts were military distinction ; now all my
thoughts are Christ. Thanks for the unnumbered
mercies of these twenty years filled my heart ; and
I doubt not that the blessed Spirit, helping my
' HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
85
infirmities, enabled me to give praise according to
the will of God.
About mid-day it began to clear a little, and,
having commended to the Lord the kind friends
who had been as a brother and sister to me, I
started on my journey. It was my desire to gather
the churches in my own mission field for prayer
once more. We had had meetings for prayer for
my visit to Basutoland about six weeks before.
Since those meetings I had made a tour of three
hundred miles in preaching the word, and I wished
to offer praise for the Lord’s answers to our prayers
in that journey.
My first halt was the valley of the Incisininde, a
large location of Fingoes, which borders on Ngamak-
we. I met many heathen on my road, and preached
Jesus to them. Many were waiting for me. The
house of prayer was filled with Christians and
with heathen. I praised the Lord publicly for His
twenty years’ mercies. He could have given me no
greater pleasure on such a day than finding myself
a witness for Him in an assembly of African Chris-
tians and heathen. I preached on Isa. liii. 6, — the
portion of the word which led to my conversion.
When we came out, black heavy thunder clouds, a
roar, and occasional flash promised a storm. But
after a cup of tea, and some food provided by my
brethren, I rode on. The Lord kept off the rain.
86
‘ HE AB1DETH FAITHFUL/
and I arrived at sunset at the hut of His faithful
servant Maliwa Nthlati, the evangelist of Esigubud-
weni, where I slept.
I have thus started the reader, hut I cannot
waste his time or my own. I must write of Basu-
toland and the French Mission, and not of Kaffir-
land. I will, however, note some of the incidents
of my journey. They may be profitable to others.
It is good that Christians should believe that the
Lord careth for them. We do not half believe it.
The Lord forgive us ! That evening, after arriving
at my brother’s hut, my hands felt very hot and
dry. There is no refreshing basin for the African
evangelist. I felt inclined to ask for some water in
a dish ; but it was dark and drizzling, and the
stream was at some distance. I was consoled by
thinking how often the Lord Jesus must have
lacked such comforts in His earthly pilgrimage. I
had just given up all thought of relieving my hot
hands, when a tremendous storm of rain burst over
the valley. There happened to be one small hole
in the thatch of Maliwa’s hut, just over the table.
Heavy drops of rain fell through this. His wife
came in at that moment and put a tin dish to catch
the rain. She went out. When the dish was half
full I washed my hands and praised the Lord.
The rain ceased as soon as there was enough water
for me to wash my hands !
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
87
I could enumerate many instances of His un-
wearied care of me in these journeys. But what
need ? Have not His servants got His word and
His promises ? are not these enough ?
Next day , after a very happy meeting with the
church here, — a very little flock, — and having
preached the gospel to the heathen, I rode on.
Again the Lord’s mercy : I reached the house of
prayer at Cibala just as a heavy storm swept over
it. The elder was away, and had not received my
message. A Christian came : ‘ May I ring ? I think
some will come/ I was very tired, and had just
thanked the Lord that I could rest. The bell was
rung, and in less than half-an-hour the building was
full of heathen, to whom I preached the Lord J esus.
Prayer with the Christians. Wind and sun had dried
the ground by the time the service was over, and I
rode on to the mission at Mbulu , praising the Lord.
Nov. 8. — Mbulu is the headquarters of the mission
which has been entrusted to my charge by the Lord,
and by His servant and the Church to which he
belongs. Many very happy days I have spent here !
Many valuable lessons, I hope, I have learnt here!
My people were glad to see me, and willingly stayed
while for six hours we waited on the Lord. I first
returned thanks for answers to prayer since we last
met. Then an interval. Then preaching of the
word. Another interval. Then a prayer meeting
88
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
for blessing on my visit to the missions, especially
to that of the Church of France, in Basutoland.
We also commended our churches to the gracious
care of the Lord. I enjoyed the day very much.
A walk in my garden as the sun set, feasting my
eyes on the strong hills around which are emblems
of God’s immutable judgments, gave me sweet and
profitable food for thought.
Nov. 9. — Left Mbulu. Laid the foundation-stone
of a house of prayer at Lutuli , an out-station. This
was an important event, as it is the first stone and
brick building for the worship of the Lord in this
mission field. I opened the service with these
words : ‘ Hear the word of the Lord, Behold, I lay
in Zion a chief Corner-stone, elect, precious; and
he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded!
There were several heathen present, and I urged on
them, as on the Christians, the folly and madness
of building our hopes for time and eternity on any
other foundation than God’s, which is Jesus Christ.
A collection was made towards the building. Then
followed a prayer meeting. I rode away with
two of my elders, Fengu and Lambata, faithful
brethren, and with Josiah, a teacher. It was an
hour after dark when I reached the mission
station at the Tsomo. Mrs. and Miss Morris wel-
comed me.
Nov. 10. — Heeding rest. The Lord permitted
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
89
me to halt one day for the English mail, and cheered
me by two letters from my wife.
Nov. 11. — 2 a.m. when I lay down ; 5 a.m.
when the bell called me to rise and preach the
word. I opened it. Ps. lxiii. was my morning
portion. Verse 2 was what I wanted : ‘ To see Thy
power and glory, so as I have seen Thee! ‘ Lord ,
show me Thy power now ; I am tired.’ Sweetly it
rested on me while I testified to His grace. Spoke
to the children, mid-day. Afternoon. — Five hours’
ride to W odehouse Mission Station, where my brother
W. Hunter, and his dear wife, gave me a warm
welcome. I called en route on the magistrate of
the Tambookie tribe of Kaffirs, Mr. Tymn, and his
wife, and at every white man’s house, and spoke of
Jesus. This there is no need to mention in my
daily journeys. Evening meetings of the church. —
As the annual missionary meeting had taken place that
day, I needed not to speak much. I could not re-
frain from expressing my gratitude to the Lord that
the churches of this district should have this day
given £60 to foreign missions outside their own
tribe, in addition to liberally supporting the gospel
in their midst. £45, 13 s. 6d. was given in cash.
The balance would be more than realized from the
following gifts: — 1 horse, 10 sheep, 8 goats, 4
lambs, 3 kids, 20 fowls, 16 eggs, and half a bag of
corn. This liberality of the church among the Tam-
90
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
bookie tribe is worth recording. It ought to prove to
the Churches of Europe and America that it is worth
while to spread the gospel in Africa. I reminded
them that prayer was the great power given to the
Church for spreading the gospel, and helping the
preachers. We therefore spent an hour in prayer.
Nov. 12. — Halted a day. Visited school. Found
children singing in English, ‘ Jesus, Emmanuel,
Thou our Leader be.’ Spoke to them on these
words. Evening. — Preached to church on Numb,
xxi. 13—16. What deep teaching here! Crossing
the Arnon was entering the promised land, — typical
of the Christian entering by faith into assured
victory in Christ (Eom. viii.). Yet what was
needed ? The assurance of Omnipotence with them
before one battle was to be fought. ‘ Gather the people
together, and I will give them water! The people
were gathered. They saw the dry ground. The
princes digged with staves ; God filled with water.
My Kaffir brethren understood the application.
Every trial, every temptation must be dug into by
the staff of God’s word, and Jesus, the Living
Water, will be found there. The meditation was
sweet ! I enjoyed the day very much with my
dear brother and sister.
Nov. 13. — ‘ Your difficulty will be between
Wodehouse and Dordredct.’ The Lord will pro-
vide. Half-way between these lay the mission
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
91
station of Mount Arthur, only five miles off the
main road. Here was labouring one whom I would
have ridden a hundred miles to visit. About seven
hours’ ride brought me to his house, having been
hospitably entertained by his uncle, and also by
Mr. Adams, a Christian, at whose house I called,
and who offered me forage for my tired beast, and
gave also to my servant and my other beasts.
My brother E. Warner had given up the posi-
tion of magistrate to the Tambookie tribe, to preach
the gospel to them. His brother had given up a
similar position to preach to the Ama Pondos. How
my heart had been bound to theirs ! It was a real
joy to meet him, because so unexpected. His wife,
like-minded with himself, had faith to consent to
his giving up his position and Government pay for
the pittance on which missionaries in Africa barely
subsist. The Lord was faithful. My dear brother
told me that, the year he gave up his Government
pay, he had been offered an increase of rent on a
small farm which is his property, and thus he was
enabled to feed his large family !
I ought here to note that the Lord had laid it on
my heart in going to Africa to stir up His Church
in this land to prayer. He had moved me to pro-
pose a Prayer Union for labours in this field. The
machinery in Kaffraria is great, but the motive
power is lacking. There are prayer meetings, but
92
' HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
not much prayer, as far as man can judge. I
was painfully struck by the absence of prayer and
spiritual power in my first visit to Africa, in 1871.
A very few missionaries joined me in this Prayer
Union. Among them these two brothers. No words
can tell the joy which filled our souls as we found
ourselves thus unexpectedly united in prayer , and
Imeeling together on this Saturday evening. Our
hour was every Saturday evening from 8 to 9 p.m.
Will Christians who pray on Saturday evenings in
other lands remember ‘ the members of the Prayer
Union of South Africa/ We ash your prayers. We
believe in prayer.
Nov. 15. — A day not to be forgotten by me. ‘ I
shall see Him ; and now I shall behold Him, and
nigh / A blessed Lord’s day. Preached to the
Tambookie Church. My beloved brother inter-
preted. Afternoon. — Spoke to Sunday school,
which contained as many adults as children.
Evening. — Prayer for the Lord’s blessing on my
farther journey. A Christian trader here helps my
dear brother in the Lord’s work.
Nov. 16. — About six hours’ ride brought me to
Dordredct. On the road I preached at one of my
brother’s out-stations. A nice hut, full. I could
not help thinking it was just such an audience as
the Lord Jesus loved. Received at Dordredct by
Rev. E. de Beer of the Dutch Reformed Church.
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
93
Met his brother, a missionary. Evening. — Preached
to the Kaffir Christians in the native village. I
shall not easily forget my ride to-day. ‘ Peace he
to this house/ was my salutation. ‘What’s that?’
said the Dutchman, standing at his door. I repeated
it. ‘ I don’t understand that,’ said he. ‘ It was
the command of the Lord Jesus to His servants to
salute the houses they entered with these words. I
am one of His servants.’ ‘ That alters the case.
Come in.’ At another house : ‘What are you doing?
Are you collecting shillings ?’ ‘No; I am preach-
ing Christ.’
Nov. 1 7. — After a long day’s ride I reached ‘ The
Neck! a pass in the Stormberg Mountains. Two
houses stand here, — a hotel, and a trader’s store.
Nothing would induce the Dutch landlord to allow
Solomon to come into the house. ‘ This is a public
room, sir ; and if I pay for my servant, as for myself,
he has a right to come in.’ ‘ I don’t care, I will
allow no Kaffir in my house.’ This will show the
sort of feeling between the Boers and the natives,
and to what the British nation subjected many
thousands of Africans when they gave up ‘ the
Sovereignty,’ now the Free State, in 1855. The
Lord reigneth. I went out to pray with Solomon
in the stables ; we especially asked for that patience
which the Lord’s servants need as they travel this
godless world. A poor Kaffir stable-man was
94
* HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
there. He understood English. I spoke to him
of Jesus, and made his heart glad.
Nov. 18. — After an hour’s prayer, I awoke my
landlord, instead of, as he promised, his awaking
me. He got breakfast, and I started at sunrise.
Before leaving, Solomon and I prayed with the
poor Kaffir, whom we left in tears for the love
of the Lord Jesus. I could not help pointing out
to Solomon the goodness of the Lord in sending
me all the way from England to speak to this poor,
despised, and lonely Kaffir in the middle of the
Stormberg Mountains, in South Africa. Bode until
mid-day, when we came to a hotel, kept by Mr.
Parker, an old English sailor of the right stamp.
He allowed Solomon to breakfast with me. Gathered
a few of our countrymen, a mason, a blacksmith,
and a carpenter, to whom I spoke on, f I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ .’ Why should we
be ashamed of being saved by the Son of God ?
When we parted, he thanked me for my visit, and
would take nothing for the men and beasts he
had refreshed. The Lord abundantly reward him !
Another four hours’ ride, and we reached Lady Grey ,
a little town most picturesquely situated at the foot
of the mountains. Here I found a welcome at
the house of the Bev. D. Boss, a Scotchman, but
a minister of the Dutch Church. He and his wife,
a Scotch lady, received me very kindly. Evening. —
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
95
I preached to a congregation of Hottentots under
Mr. Ross’ care. ‘ Some have erred , and overthrow
the faith of some, nevertheless the foundation of the
Lord standeth sure ’ (2 Tim. ii. 18, 19).
Nov. 19. — Awoke very weary. But there were
words of power in my morning psalm (lxxi.): * I will
hope continually, and will yet praise Thee more and
more. I will go in the strength of the Lord God, and
will make mention of Thy righteousness only! Rode
until mid-day, when we arrived at the residence
of Mr. Hulse, the magistrate of what is called ‘ The
Reserve,’ near Wittbergen. I was too tired to go
half-an-hour farther, to see Mr. Giddy, the mission-
ary. After dinner, Mrs. Hulse kindly proposed that
I should rest until Solomon returned from the
mission station, where he had taken a horse to he
shod. After a most beautiful and picturesque ride
of three hours, we reached Bensonvale, the mission
station of the Lord’s servant A. Brigg. He is
one of my companions in prayer, and our meeting
was therefore a mutual cause of praise to the
Lord.
Nov. 20. — I had heard that my brother Mr. Brigg
was very ill, which is why I came by a short cut
from Lady Grey, instead of spending a night at
Wittbergen. I thanked God that he was much
better than I expected to find him. I cannot
forbear making the following extracts from my
96
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
diary, in reference to our meeting, and to the blessed
power of prayer union to help scattered Christians
in their work for the Lord : — It was a twofold joy
thus to meet him. And wherefore so much joy
to meet a man I had never seen before ? Only
those who know the deep, hallowed communion of
spirit that man can enjoy with his fellow-man in
prayer can understand this. Man is not a mere
animal, as infidels teach. He is a spiritual being ;
as it is written, ‘ The Lord God breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living
soul.’ Oh, foolish infidels ! Go to God's word. See
there that you are better than you think yourselves.
See there that you have a spiritual being. If you
do not think and feel this, it is because you are dead,
as the word of God declares you are. Therefore hear
the voice of Christ in His gospel ; receive life from
Him and * live. Oh, the union of prayer ! How it
■ unites with a power beyond electricity the most
distant points ! Am I, here in Africa, separated
from my beloved brethren and sisters in Christ,
for whom I pray, in London ? No, I am not. Am
I separated from Hudson Taylor, Judd, Moule,
Valentine, Beschlin, Douglas, in China? No, I
am not. Am I separated from Claxton, Dodge,
M£Birney, Pearsall Smith, in America ? No, I
am not. Am I separated from my peripatetic
brother Moody, and the sweet singer his companion ?
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
97
No, I am not. Of these, and many more, I can
write, ‘ Without ceasing , I have remembrance of thee
daily ’ in prayer. I meet them in spirit. To them
and to all my fellow-Christians I would say, ‘ Ye
also helping together in prayer .’
This was a day of rest, peace, and communion
with the Lord over His word. Spoke, for the first
time, to Basuto Christians. My dear brother
gathers his elders every Friday, and asked me to
speak to them. I told them that I had been
privileged to meet believers in the Lord Jesus in
many nations, and rejoiced to find believers in Him
among the Basuto tribe.
Nov. 21. — A quiet, happy day, as yesterday. Had
the happiness of spending the hour of the Prayer
Union this Saturday with another brother in the
Lord, who had thus joined me in prayer. I could
but see the Lord making this delightful arrangement
for me.
Nov. 22. — A day to be remembered by me.
Preached the gospel to Basutos. Learnt to-day the
difficulty the first missionaries had in preaching to
the Kaffirs. They could not speak Kaffir, therefore
they were obliged to find one man who knew
English and Dutch, and a second who knew Dutch
and Kaffir, for there were none who knew English
and Kaffir. Thus their words were translated into
Dutch, then into Kaffir. Often the knowledge of
a
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' HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.’
the interpreters was very limited, and great mistakes
were made. Nevertheless Christ was preached , and
men who had never heard His name were led from
the depths of heathenism to trust in Him. Oh, the
matchless wisdom and power of God ! To-day the
congregation was half Basuto and half Bingo,
Dutch, and English. Hymns were given out to
the same metre in four languages. Each tongue
sang its own hymn, and I was surprised to find that
no one language predominated. It was one grand
chorus of praise. The chapel built by my dear
brother held a very large congregation. I preached
in English, Solomon translated into Kaffir, and a
Easuto Christian from Kaffir into his own language.
Both my interpreters were filled with the same
spirit as myself. They not only preached the same
words as I did, but spoke them with the same
earnestness and action. The Lord gave me His
word according to my prayer. My dear brother
preached to the Dutch in the afternoon. In the
evening I spoke once more to the Fiijgoes and
Basutos. How great a privilege to witness for the
Lord !
Thus ended a most blessed day. A Christian
can have no greater joy than to travel on and on
over the wide world , and to find that now , in nearly
all peoples, nations, and languages, there are those
to whom the name of Jesus is most precious. Few
‘ HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL.5
99
are permitted this present foretaste of the coming
kingdom and glory. Those who are should take
care that Christ alone forms the burden of their
song, — the joy, the boast, the strength of their daily
life. ‘ Quicken us, 0 Lord, and we will call upon
Thy name .’
I have been insensibly led to give these notes
of my journey to the mission-field of the Church
of France. I did not mean to do so. I ask the
reader’s pardon.
Cijt $$tssion-fulI> of tk Cburcb of Jfratrte.
Hlasitisi, §c%sira, Silos, Cfmbena,
lltoreira, Ulorija, Jptrmon.
CHAPTER VIII.
Nov. 23. — Thanking the Lord for the rest he had
given to me, to my faithful servant, and my horses,
and for the kindness of my dear brother and his
wife, I bade them farewell. The Lord bless them
and their children. In riding through the village
my pony trod on a loose stone, and came down on
both knees ; the Lord held me in the saddle, as he
did a few weeks before, when my big horse 'Charlie’
came down with such force on his head as to bend
the bit. I delight to praise His watchful care ! A
neighbour rode with me to the first drift. The Lord
bless our meeting, as also my halt to offsaddle. I
saluted a pleasant-looking white man as a brother
in Christ. I was told a Christian lived where I
should offsaddle. I soon saw that he was not one.
‘ I think I have made a mistake.’ ‘ So do 1/ he
said. 'But the Lord has made none, my friend.
He has sent me to you to tell you of Him and His
salvation.’ He kindly gave me a cup of tea.
While I drank it I spoke of Him who is Living
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
Water. When I got to the right house, ‘ I dont know ’
was the reply to my query whether I addressed a
brother in Christ. Alas ! he confessed that, living
among Kaffirs, he became as a heathen. The word
of God and family prayer were neglected. The
Lord permitted me here to gather four of my fellow-
countrymen, and to preach His gospel of forgiveness
of sins and eternal life to them. Just as I was
leaving, the arrival of a witch-doctor at the store
enabled me to preach Jesus to a crowd of Kaffirs.
The scenery was very grand in crossing these
spurs of the Drakenberg or Maluti Mountains.
Each new view made me lift up my heart in
praise. As we came in sight of the mountains of
the Orange Eiver, and the spot where Masitisi lies
was pointed out by the guide, a heavy storm bore
down towards it. This warned us to go on. There
was, however, a camp of English police at Palmeit-
fontein, which we were then passing, and I could
not pass my fellow-countrymen without speaking to
them of the Lord Jesus. I called on the officer,
but he was absent on duty. His wife and
daughters received me most kindly. Their house
sheltered me from the first burst of the storm.
One of the police had seen me at King William’s
Town, and before I left I had the happiness of
speaking to a few of my fellow-countrymen on
man’s finished redemption. ‘ As for God , His way
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
105
is perfect .’ God’s way of saving man is perfect.
Man cannot help being saved, if he will only believe in
what Christ has done, and lives to do.
‘You must ride sharp if you want to get to
Masitisi before dark/ said a policeman I met at a
drift about a mile from the camp. Thanking him,
I reminded him that we live in a dark world, and
there is but one Light for man in it. I rode sharp.
The storm came over the mountains and quickened
our pace, the horses going willingly. On with
waterproofs — a gallop, a trot, a gallop, a trot, and
we are in sight of Masitisi.
My heart was filled with thankfulness as I
looked at the humble cottage which stood below
some grand rocks. I had reached the first of the
mission stations of the Church of France among the
Basuto tribe, and I thanked the Lord. I galloped
down the hill, then across what would have been a
bog had I ridden slower, and trotted up to the door.
‘ I thank God, my beloved brother, for having given
me what has been long the desire of my heart, to visit
the Mission of the French Protestant Church in South
Africa .’ Thus I greeted Ernest Creux, the minister
of the Lord labouring in this field. ‘ You are an
answer to many prayers', was his reply. We at
once knelt together and praised the Lord.
Nov. 24 to 27. — Bested with this dear brother
and his wife. They came out to South Africa
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
with M. and Mme. Berthoud, as missionaries
from the Church of the Canton de Yaud. This
Swiss Church had been a staunch friend to the
Mission of the Church of France, and had sent
them men and means from time to time. It now
desires to send on the gospel beyond Basutoland.
The necessities of the sister mission had been over-
ruled by the Lord to detain these brethren awhile,
that they might get acclimatized, and learn the
language and character of these tribes of Africans.
‘ He is wise in counsel/ in ‘ doing wonders/
I had full opportunity of testifying to the Lord,
and His grace and salvation. We had early morn-
ing prayer meetings, and meetings each afternoon to
enable me to preach the word.
My brother’s predecessor, M. Ellenberger, had,
with considerable labour and skill, built a house in
a cave, and had utilized the rocks and ridges to
great advantage. A terrace, shaded by trees which
he had planted, commanded a lovely view ; and I
enjoyed the quiet of this spot for meditation and
prayer. Gardens, cattle-kraal, pig-stye, and other
necessities of a mission station, were all formed as
nature had allowed of them. The wall of the cave
had fallen out, and the present mission-house is the
old printing office. It is no waste, of time for a
missionary to labour with his own hands. The best
missions, and those which have done most for the
CHUKCH OF FRANCE.
107
African, are those in which the missionaries taught
him to make bricks, to build, and to thatch. The
more skilful in needful handiwork the servant of
the Lord is, the more will he attract the notice and
attention of his heathen neighbours, and the more
willingly will they listen to his preaching. This
should be his desire.
The house of prayer at this station is as unique
as the cave. It is simply a roof of thatch built on
a foundation. It answers the purpose well. There
is a window and door at each end. The seats and
pulpit are made of clay. The Lord condescends to
give His presence here, and I enjoyed some very
happy hours with this church.
The first afternoon I spoke of the Lord Jesus,
the Living Water (John iv.) ; the next, of His
assurance that the believer should receive living
water from Him, and should outflow living water to
others. It was very sweet to speak of the deep,
sweet, refreshing streams of grace which, by the
Holy Ghost, flow from the Lord Jesus to the
believer, and through him to a dying world. At
the close of each meeting my dear brother and I
invited any who wished to remain and speak with
us of the things of Christ. The Christian will see
that there is no difference between the spiritual life
of the black Basuto of South Africa, in his or her
blanket and patched trousers or petticoat, and the
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
better dressed and more civilised white men and
women of Great Britain. The trials in the Chris-
tian life of either, as in all nations, are very much
alike. They have the same enemies to resist. The
world, the flesh, and the devil vary only in external
appearance and degree wherever the Stronger than
he meets the strong man armed. Wherever He
does, the victory is certain, though the fight be
against desperate odds.
The third day I spoke of the coming and king-
dom of the Lord Jesus ; and we had a third after-
meeting. From notes I made, that I might pray
for those who spoke to me, I have gathered the
following experiences. Those who remained were,
as far as my dear brother and I could judge, deeply
moved by the Holy Spirit.
A man who had been cruelly wronged, and had
been led by bad advice to avenge himself, confessed
his sin, and prayed for grace to forgive his enemy,
and restore what he had obtained by law for the
wrong done to him.
A mother, whose son wants to be married accord-
ing to the abominable customs of the heathen
(being himself a heathen), prays for grace and
guidance. He is violent and rude.
A young girl desires to know more of the love of
Jesus.
A mother, whose grown-up son and daughter
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109
come and hear the word — their life moral — prays
for their conversion.
A wife, much persecuted for the Lord’s sake — a
faithful, consistent Christian — prays for conversion
of her husband, and for grace to rejoice in her trial.
To this dear sister I read verses from 1 Peter i. 4,
explaining that her trial was a ‘ needs-be.’
A wife, who had hopes of her husband, had her
clothes torn off her by him on her return from the
first meeting. Prays for his conversion.
A brother, not long come in from heathenism,
does not see the gospel clearly. Very tired of the
struggle. Isa. liii. 6 was put before him. He said,
‘ I see/
Young girl feels pride. She was pointed to the
Lord Jesus. Confessions of pride, disobedience, and
other spiritual sins were made, and grace desired.
Many found relief in quiet tears after they had un-
burdened their hearts. Three remained to give praise
for blessing received during my testimony to the grace
of the Lord. Nothing can make one feel more assur-
ance in the solemn reality of the deep spiritual truths
of the gospel of Christ, than hearing from these sons
and daughters of Africa such expressions and spiritual
desires as only God Himself, by His word and Spirit,
could have put into their hearts.
The evenings my dear brother devotes to a school
for the shepherd boys, — a most blessed work. These
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
poor boys are employed all day in herding the cattle.
But for evening school, they would get no instruc-
tion concerning God. The school was a most inte-
resting sight, — the scholars very quick and willing
to learn, and their singing very good. I was glad
to speak a few words to try and encourage them to
listen to the word of Christ, and to try and learn to
read and write.
Nov. 27. — The pillar of the cloud moved on. I
had greatly enjoyed this my first visit to the French
Mission, and saw a real work of God being carried
on in prayer, and faith, and self-denial. Such a
work must be blessed. The people gathered as usual
for early morning prayer, and I spoke briefly on
the unlimited promise in John xv. 7. Joy filled
every face. ‘We prayed for your wife and child/
said an old man with a very bright expression, as
he warmly shook my hand in parting. That man
was a cannibal when the gospel was brought to the
Basutos by the Church of France !
I bade my beloved brother and his dear wife fare-
well. We had become acquainted for eternity. Yet
a little while and we shall meet again in glory !
There had been a long drought in the Transkei, and
throughout the country. ‘ I hope we shall soon have
rain/ a lady had remarked to me some days before.
I replied that I believed that the Lord was holding
up the rain until I had crossed the Orange Biver.
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
Ill
She laughed, and asked when that would be. I told
her. My faith was verified. I crossed the Orange
River at about 1 1 A.M. to-day. Another hour and it
began to rain, and by night the river was impassable ,
for the first time this summer! Whatever infidels
may write or think, I believe in prayer, for I always
find that my prayers are answered.
We reached the Orange Eiver. ‘Where it is
narrow it is deep/ said my guide, pointing to where
the current ran swiftly. ‘ Yes ; we must cross where
the stream is broad.’ In he went. Soon the water
was well up on the horses. I anticipated a good
wetting, for he was not nearly half-way across ;
but just then the horse got on higher ground, and
crossed easily. What a picture of death and the
life of glory to come ! The infidel tries the narrow
and swift current of infidelity, and perishes in its
waters. The believer, by grace, takes the higher,
broader, calmer stream of God’s love in Christ.
Whatever may be his fears as he enters the river, he
is soon safe and sound in the glory of God.
These were my first thoughts after crossing the
Orange Eiver and entering Basutoland. My heart
was full of praise. Black clouds gathered ahead, and
rain began. What cares the Christian after he has
crossed the line which divides the kingdom of Satan
and the kingdom of God ? I had got the right side
of the river, and he has got the right side of that
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
important dividing line. Black clouds and rain harm
us not. We soon passed the cottage of an evangelist,
and found him at work in his field. Dismounting,
I held my first prayer meeting in Basutoland. An
hour’s ride, and a stiff climb on foot, brought us to
the top of a mountain, beneath which lay Bethesda,
Very, very beautiful was the view. The scenery of
Basutoland is remarkable. The mountains and hills
are so unique, so diverse, so irregular, so numerous,
and yet, withal, so symmetrical and well arranged in
their natural beauty by the wisdom of their great
Creator, that I felt on entering the country ,as if I
were riding in enchanted ground. I did not lose
this delight in the natural beauty of the mountains
during my whole ride through this country.
As I neared the mission station, the first of the
Church of France in Basutoland on my route, I was
struck by the substantial appearance of the buildings,
although a large hole in the roof, and a mason repair-
ing one of the gables, told of fair wear and tear. The
house was surrounded by a well-built wall, — a rare
sight in South Africa. The house, church, wall, and
all the buildings were erected by the two hands of
M. Gosselin, who was the first of the French mis-
sionaries who occupied the station. These, with not
a few souls gathered into the Church of Christ, are a
grand memorial to that faithful labourer. His body
rests in the garden at some distance from the house.
CHURCH OF FRANCE. 113
M. Cochet, who had been for 36 years a witness
for his Lord in Africa, welcomed me. Whatever
delicacy I felt in thus coming to visit a station
watched over by one who might be my father in
Christ, it was at once removed by his brotherly
gentleness and love. His wife, a Scotch lady, who
still remembers the old land, made me feel at home.
One of the daughters had made the voyage from
England with me. We all knelt and praised the
Lord for permitting us to meet.
Nov. 28 to 30. — Great was the grace bestowed
on my dear elder brother. He gave me an open
door for testimony, and did not weary as hour after
hour he interpreted for me to the natives, while I
endeavoured to impart to them what the Lord had
taught me of the unsearchable riches of His grace.
I never enjoyed preaching the word of God more
than in this church. My first day I was led to
speak of the miracle at Bethesda. On the second, —
the Lord’s day, as I love to call it, — in the morning,
on Heb xi., the faith of Noah, c warned of things not
seen as yet;' in the afternoon, the example of the
Lord Jesus, who is now the only object of faith given
to man by God, — * who, instead of the joy set before
Him [correct translation], endured the cross, despis-
ing the shame/ On the third day, the gift of the
Holy Ghost come down from heaven. What a glori-
ous truth is this ! Here is the power of the true Church,
H
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
— God the Holy Ghost in very truth dwelling in each
believer, and carrying out the gift of salvation in him.
None ought to speak on this subject but those who
have had practical experience of its reality in their
lives.
The Lord gave me full assurance, during after-
meetings which we held each day, that He sent me
here, and that I had not spoken but at His word.
I praised Him.
In the mason I found an honest Irish sailor, and
a humble Christian. The army and navy fraternized
as usual. I gave myself a little relaxation on Mon-
day afternoon by making an opening in the wall
opposite the front door. It was partly broken. My
friend the mason came to my help just as a batch of
English letters arrived. One was from an old brother
officer, telling me of his conversion. I could hardly
believe my senses, although I knew the handwriting
well. I fell on my knees and blessed the Lord.
This letter filled my soul with joy, and strengthened
my faith. Other letters from Canada and England
assured me of remembrances in prayer, which the
Lord is daily answering.
December 1. — This month last year I left my wife
and child for the work of the Lord in this land.
What more appropriate expression of my thoughts
than ‘ thanks be to God, who always causeth us to
tiiumph in Christ ’ (2 Cor. ii. 14) ? Up before the sun
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
115
in prayer. My beloved elder brother and his kind
wife and family rose for an early breakfast, and
having commended ourselves to the Lord, we parted.
As I rode away from the house, and turned to look
at my dear friends, I could not help remarking the
great improvement yesterday afternoon’s labour had
effected. Between us, the mason, Solomon, and I
had made a good job of it.
Crossed a mountain, and down to the house of
Mr. Austin, magistrate of the district, who had
•kindly asked me to visit him. It was a lovely ride,
the air delicious. I enjoyed my rest in the house
of the magistrate and his kind wife. He was hav-
ing an office built, and I found another sailor who
had turned mason. I sought to give him that
anchor in life which no storm can drag, — the word
of Christ. Poor fellow I he needed it. He told
the truth : ' There is no devil worse than inside
me.’ I told him of One who could cast him out.
He had served Satan long, and, like most of his
slaves, had suffered for so doing, for he said, ‘ The
greatest devil I ever saw is that cat they keep in
the British navy.’ I quote these words, as they
confirm my experience that no punishment can re-
form man . Christ is the wisdom of God' and the
power of God. He alone can change man. His
love converts the heart. I told my friend this, and
that He had saved me, and many a soldier and
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
sailor, from hell and sin. May He have mercy on
him !
Having an engagement to preach at an out-
station, I was obliged to ride on. The rain had
filled the Cornet Spruit River, but happily there
was a boat by which we crossed ; the horses were
driven in, and swam across. ‘ I gladly give you
sixpence each for bringing us over this river, my
friend. But remember that when man comes to
the river of Death, there is but one Ferryman to the
heavenly shore, the Lord Jesus, and there is nothing
to pay' Thus I tried to preach Christ. About
three hours more riding and we reached Mahali -
yangi. Here I found M. Maeder, one of the French
missionaries, and his wife, who had ridden over
from Siloe, his station, to meet me. Many people
had assembled, and we gathered outside the chief s
house, where I preached on the gift of eternal life
by the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s aged servant — for
M. Maeder is the oldest missionary in the field — was
my interpreter. After the meeting we walked over
to a store kept by a retired officer. There was an
old soldier there, and, desiring to speak a word con-
cerning the Saviour to him, I asked to be allowed to
do so. While dwelling on the exhortation to fight
the good fight of faith, I noted that faith rested on
the word of God. ‘ God has no two ways about Him,' —
a favourite expression among soldiers. ‘ Soldiers
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117
like a commanding officer who lias no two ways
about him/ The old soldier caught this remark,
and interrupted, ‘ Commanding officers have many
ways about them. Don’t compare them to God/
He had not understood what I had said, but was
quite satisfied with my explanation. The officer
understood it well. I trust both will remember
God’s one only way of salvation for high and low,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
We reached Siloe after a good hour’s ride. It
lies at the foot of a cone-shaped hill. f My hus-
band went to the top of that mountain during the
war with the Boers, and held the flag of peace.
They were shooting and killing all round/
The house, school, and other buildings here were
all built by M. Maeder himself, — very neat and
simple, but patterns for the native Christians to
try and imitate. This many of them have done, to
their great comfort, and the improvement of their
domestic life.
I was very thankful to rest in this quiet spot.
Dec. 2. — A meeting of the church and people
had been arranged, and as there was no room for
all in the school, we assembled in the open air. I
always enjoy preaching in the open air. The Lord’s
cathedral is better than any that man has built,
and all His monuments are truth. There is no ful-
some praise in the mountains. The heavens declare
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
His glory. I had been much refreshed this morn-
ing by meditating on Psalm lxxxiv., my daily
portion, and I gave to my African brethren what
the Lord had given me :
‘ Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house.’
‘ Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee, in
whose heart Thy ways/
‘ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.’
God’s house is built on the Lord Jesus. We
who believe are built on Him. God dwells in us,
and we in God. Blessed is the man who thus
dwells in God’s house, whose strength and trust
is in Him. After this happy meditation, I asked
to have the children gathered, and spoke to them of
the Lord.
Siloe was to me as the waters of Siloah, which
flow softly, and I was refreshed by the precious water
of this word of God. As at Bethesda, so here I
was cheered by my intercourse with one who had
done many years’ hard service in the African mission-
field. I bade him and his kind wife farewell after
dinner, and was not sorry to have only two hours’
ride to Thabena Morena. ‘ You can see Thabena
Morena in the mountain opposite,’ said my elder
brother, and his wife pointed it out to me. Happy
is the Christian whose faith is so clear that he can
see Mount Zion, the city of the living God, as day
by day he journeys towards it ! All would see it , but
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119
they won't look where God tells them. Christ says,
‘ Look unto Me, and be ye saved,’ but they will
not look.
As we approached the mountain, the school chil-
dren met me, and saluted me with hymns. The
children at Mahali-yangi had done me the same
kindness. They marched hack to the station, sing-
ing merrily, and I rode with them. They were
my ‘ band.’ I was quite content to have changed
these children’s voices, singing the praises of the
Lord, for all ‘ the pomp and circumstance of war.’
M. Germond, the missionary at Thabena Morena,
was away on duty. But I had travelled to Africa
with them, and his little boy recognised me as the
friend who had given him ‘ les oranges ’ on board
ship. When we parted at Cape Town, his station
in Basutoland seemed so distant, that although I
purposed to visit him, I did not like to talk about
it ; but the Lord had so wonderfully renewed my -
strength that I had now been able to do so. I
found here M. and Mme. Berthoud, the fellow-
labourers with M. and Mme. Creux, from the Church
of the Canton de Yaud. They were on their way
to Masitisi, to arrange for their journey to the
regions beyond.
Dec. 3. — M. Germond arrived with his eldest boy
after breakfast. They had started early from Morija,
six hours’ ride, and after his breakfast the boy slept.
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
When waked for dinner he came in saying, ‘ Good
morning.’ He was very sleepy, and forgot his ride,
or thought it was yesterday ! It was a real plea-
sure to me to meet my brother Germond in his own
station and home. I remained with him two days,
and twice preached to his people in a well-built
chapel, which he himself had built twice. The first
time it was finished except the roof, when a Boer
war took place, and the walls, left in that condition,
fell in. Length, 5 3 feet ; breadth, 1 8 feet ; height of
walls, 12 feet, is a good-sized building for a mis-
sionary to erect. May my dear brother have grace
to bring in, and build up in it, many living stones
on the one only Foundation, Christ Jesus !
The second day I spoke on the glorious truth of
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. I always desire
to speak on this neglected but most important
truth, and to put before the native Christians the
proofs given us in the word of God by which we
may know whether we have the Holy Ghost or not,
— 1 Cor. xii. 3 ; 1 John v. 1 ; Gal. iv. 6 ; Kom. viii.
15, 16, and other passages.
A storm came on at sunset, with thunder and
lightning. There was every appearance of my
being stopped in my journey. I prayed the Lord
it might not be so. Awoke at 2 A.M., and the
thunder and lightning were very heavy. Never-
theless I knelt up in my bed and prayed, ‘ Lord
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121
Jesus, Lord of the thunder, and lightning, and rain,
I pray Thee drive it away, that I may go on my
journey in Thy gospel to-day/ The storm ceased
almost instantly. In half-an-hour the moon came
out. I got up at 3.30, called Solomon, and pre-
pared to start. The Lord sent ‘ an exceeding strong
wind,’ as soon as the storm ceased, to dry the roads.
If an infidel asks, Do you suppose this was all in
answer to your prayers ? I reply, ‘ Yes!
Dec. 5. — M. Germond rode with me from his
house, where I had been glad to see his family
more comfortably settled than in the cabin of a
ship at sea. He remarked that the Lord had
given me a very unusual day, — clouds on the
mountain-tops. After we parted I offsaddled, and
then rode on alone. How delightful it is to ride
on and on into a picturesque country in which
you have never before travelled ! What fresh and
glorious pictures open before you, one after another !
I could not but think how glorious the moment
when the redeemed and saved soul bursts into the
hidden glories of paradise, or the coming of the
Lord shall bring full salvation to His people in the
twinkling of an eye !
After about six hours’ ride, the turn of a fine
mountain, which I had had before me for some
time, brought me in sight of Morija. The mission
station looked bright, and invitingly homely, set
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by the Lord’s hand in a beautiful valley, and under
a large mountain. The large substantial house of
prayer standing in its centre is a testimony that
the Lord had owned and blessed the labours of His
servants there.
I had now reached the oldest station of the
Church of Trance in South Africa. With what
joy I beheld the power and glory of the Lord in the
scene before me ! This mission stands alone among
missions to the heathen. It is the faithful effort
of a long-persecuted and very poor Church, and the
Lord has signally guided and blessed it. Here, in
Basutoland, in South Africa, I saw with my own
eyes the Lord’s testimony to the faithfulness of the
Church of France. Here was His proof that all
the cruel and bloody persecutions of the enemies of
His word and truth could not quench the life of
that Church. A few of its children were sent out
to South Africa. Their number was small, their
means less ; yet, by His blessing, they had founded
a flourishing church in one of the largest heathen
tribes in that land. ‘ Mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation,’ was the thought of my heart as I rode
up towards the school-college, which stands on a
height at some distance from the village.
How can I describe the welcome of one whom
I had long loved and prayed for, and who had loved
and prayed for me, and of others who had loved me
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123
in advance for the Lord’s sake ? It was, indeed,
a joy too deep for words when I met MM. Dyke,
Mabille, and Casalis ; and we at once knelt and
praised the Lord, praying that all onr intercourse
might be guided by Him for His glory. Mme.
Dyke came into the room, and joined us in prayer.
This institution, which, for brevity, I will call
‘ college/ is under the direction of M. Dyke. Some
twenty-four Basuto young men are here boarded
and trained for schoolmasters and catechists. There
are thirty-six in the ‘ lower school ’ in the village.
The system of the Church of France is very good.
It employs all the young men it trains first as
schoolmasters. When they have been tried in this
position and found faithful , if they are so led, they
are employed as evangelists. Thus the sacred cha-
racter of a preacher of God’s word is guarded from
contempt. It is impossible to calculate the injury
which has been done among the Kaffir tribes
bordering on the Colony, by the employment of
ignorant and unconverted men as evangelists.
While I was in England, I had met the only son
of the dear friend under whose roof I now rested.
I had added my advice to the desire of his parents,
that he should abandon the prospects of business
for the glorious work of preaching the gospel to the
heathen, and this he has done. I was therefore
doubly welcome. The expectation of a week’s rest
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of body, and delightful communion of soul, was very
soothing, and I thoroughly enjoyed the parental
tenderness which supplied my every need.
Here again ‘ the Prayer Union of South Africa *
had introduced me and hound me to the Lord’s
servants. This evening, for the third time in my
journey, the Lord brought me, on a Saturday, to the
house of one of the few of my brethren who had
joined this Union. Oh, the bond of prayer ! It is
unity of spirit ! It is oneness of soul ! Can man
know closer union with his fellow-man ? ‘ Through
Him we both have access in one spirit to the
Father.’
Dec. 6. — Lord's Day. — My dear brethren wished
me to preach the word of the Lord to the people,
and I therefore did so. The church at Morija
holds many hundreds. It was quite full. I praised
the Lord for permitting me to testify to such an
assembly. The Christians in South Africa, at any
distance from the towns, seldom hear any but their
own missionaries and evangelists. I felt it, there-
fore, a great privilege thus to testify for the Lord.
In the morning, I was led to preach on our
Lord’s appearance to John in Patmos, and in the
afternoon, on His meeting Saul on his way to
Damascus. His Church must believe in Him as
thus revealed in His glory, clothed with majesty,
and watching over each individual, in whatever
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125
position, or it cannot yield to Him the faithful
service He requires.
At the close of the morning service several
women remained behind. They were awed by the
description of the glory of the Lord Jesus, and
the thoughts consequent on the knowledge of His
glory. One, a heathen, professed to believe next
day.
Between the services I had the happiness of
addressing the children. The Lord Jesus and the
dear little dead daughter of Jairus was a good
subject on which to speak to the dear little children
of Basutoland. Some of them He has raised from
the dead.
M. Mabille kindly interpreted for me in the
morning, and Dr. Casalis in the afternoon. It was
a great help to have as my interpreters two dear
friends thorough masters of the language, and who
entered in spirit into the truths it was my prayer-
ful desire to set plainly before the people.
The communion of the Lord’s Supper was ob-
served at the afternoon service. I greatly enjoyed
joining in this most sacred ordinance with these
dear French and Basuto brethren. After these
services I was much refreshed by singing some
of my grandfather’s beautiful French hymns. They
are so full of deep, glorious, Scripture truth, that I
never sing them without being cheered up. Often
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and often as a soldier, when weary, or suffering for
the Lord’s sake, I have paced np and down my
quarters singing these hymns, until every cloud
has been dissipated by their bright, clear truth and
Christian faith.
1th to 10 th. — These were happy days at Morija.
On Monday morning I preached at a general service
on the Lord Jesus and His words, ‘ I am the light
of the world! The next service was to Christians
only. ' Ye are the light of the world! Lighthouses
have no light in them but what is put in; neither has
man. It is only when Christ has by grace shone
into his soul that he can shed any light for God on
this dark world. How long it takes some Chris-
tians to learn this ! They think that natural talent
and college training give light to the soul. Happy
are they when they can sever the mental from the
spiritual, and know that man may possess any
amount of human wisdom, and yet be in utter
darkness towards God. Christ is the wisdom of God.
God knows no other. The wisdom of this world
is foolishness with Him. Unless man has Christ in
his soul, he is entirely in the dark, and hnoweth not
whither he goeth.
Afternoon. — I spoke to the schoolmasters and
evangelists on 2 Cor. iii. — God, who all-suffices those
whom He calls by grace to be His ministers or servants
of the new covenant. It is a sweet and most pro-
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127
fitable subject, on which those who serve the Lord
cannot meditate too often.
On Tuesday I enjoyed a long conversation on the
prospects of mission work in the interior with M.
Mabille, whose whole heart and soul, like mine, is
filled with a burning desire to see the gospel carried
on and on until it reaches the tribes under the
equator. How glorious such converse with one
who knows what he is talking about ! As I purpose
to make some remarks on the prospects of mission
work in South Africa in the closing chapter, I will
not give these notes here. We prayed before we
began to talk about the Lord’s kingdom, and when
we ended, and I have no doubt that some blessing
will follow.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I had the happiness
of joining with my dear friends and their families in
the study of the word. M. Preen is associated with
MM. Dyke and Mabille and Dr. Casalis in the work
of the college, and he and his wife shared with us
in all our meetings. We took the epistle of Jude,
and found in it much-needed exhortation, warning,
comfort, and hope.
Dec. 10. — As I wished to visit Hermon, a station
at some little distance from Morija, and as my
work of late had somewhat tired me, Dr. Casalis
kindly drove me over there in the afternoon. He
took some wood, so that when we f outspanned ’ —
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took out the horses — we might have a cup of tea.
While he made the fire I went for water. Appar-
ently there was none but very dark, stagnant water,
albeit fresh from recent rain ; but I wanted living
water, clear as crystal. Of this there was no sign,
but I went on, and faith had its reward. I found
a little stream of running water, and filled my kettle.
Christian, never be satisfied to be filled with muddy
truth : go to the Living Stream, Christ, and fill yourself
with Him. This is the lesson I learned.
We reached Hermon at sunset, and were wel-
comed by M. and Mme. Ellenberger. This station
was founded by M. Dyke ; and the house he built
with his own hands, and in which his wife and
family lived for many years, yet stands. It is a
very small house, of two rooms ; and yet, as he said,
it was a palace then to him. Two houses of prayer,
yet standing, are his memorials. The one was too
small before it was well finished for the congrega-
tion with which the Lord filled it, so the second had
to be built.
Dec. 11. — The largest of the buildings was cram-
med in the morning, when, with my dear friend Dr.
Casalis for my interpreter, I preached on the Lord’s
manifestation of Himself to Cornelius by the word
which He sent by Peter. He could use any means.
The angel could have told Cornelius what Peter did.
But such is not the Lord’s will. He chooses to use
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129
• man filled with His own Spirit. When His word
is believed, the Holy Ghost seals forgiveness. A
few words to the children, on ‘ If these should hold
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out/
and then I spoke to the Christians on union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. In the evening I went to
the village, and amongst others visited the headman,
who, on account of pride and some supposed slight
from the ministers, will not join the church. I
pointed out to him the wrong he was thus doing
his own soul and the cause of the Lord.
Dec. 12. — I had said good-bye to my brother
Ellenberger, his dear wife and children, before I
went to bed. It would otherwise have been wrong
to have gone off before sunrise, while all were asleep.
However, Dr. Casalis and I preferred marching early,
so we left ‘ without beat of drum/ We outspanned,
had our tea and our morning prayer, and then drove
on quietly to Morija.
In the afternoon the school children were invited
by me, on behalf of three very precious little Scotch
children, whose zeal and interest in mission work in
Africa, especially that which the Lord has committed
to me, is beyond all praise. About 160 children
marched up from the village, with flags, singing
hymns. It was a very pretty sight. When they
were seated in the school, I read them the letter
from their little Scotch friends, by whom they were
i
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thus invited to partake of cake and coffee. The
following is an extract : — f Dear Major Malan, — This
is a letter from all of us, only mamma is writing it
for us. We have gathered such a lot of money in
baby’s money-box for you to put into your pocket
and give to little children ; and tell them that we
think about them in Scotland, and talk about them,
and want them to have a happy Christmas, and to
know a great deal about the Lord Jesus.’
This precious letter I received just as I was start-
ing for Basutoland; and as in the winter of 1872-3
some hundreds of poor children were feasted in
London by money sent to them by children from
Basutoland, I thought it only just that the Basuto
children should receive part of the money sent
to me for children in South Africa. The feast
cost me only £1, thanks to the kindness of the
ladies who prepared it. We all enjoyed it very
much, especially the children. The Lord reward
the precious three in Scotland who think of the
children in Africa !
The evening was spent in prayer.
Dec. 13. — Lord's Day. — Preached, morning, on what
is to my mind one of the most delightful subjects
for human consideration, — that the salvation of the
believer stands in the will of God. How clearly
this grand truth stands out in God’s word ! Man
may call it by what name he likes, it is a truth
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131
which cannot he shaken except by unbelief. ‘ Saved
by His own purpose, given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began ’ (2 Tim. i. 9). This, and Christ’s
words, ' They shall never perish, neither shall any take
them out of my hand ,’ are enough for me. After-
noon, I spoke to the children. A prayer meeting
for the Lord’s blessing on my farther journey fol-
lowed. Evening, I spoke to the students at the
college, as last Lord’s day, on the faith and obedi-
ence of Daniel and his friends.
Dec. 14. — Enjoyed another converse with my dear
brother Mabille and his wife on mission work.
Nothing rejoices my soul more than meeting with
those who are in earnest for the spread of the name
and fame of the Lord Jesus on earth. Dined with
them. Had our last Bible reading with the other
brethren and their wives. We finished the Epistle
of Jude, rejoicing in Him who is able to keep us
from falling, and to present us blameless before the
presence of His glory with exceeding joy. In the
evening I spoke to the young men of the college
on Dan. xii. 3.
Dec. 15. — My happy visit to Morija had come to
its close. I have not been able to express the joy
and pleasure I experienced in communion with these
servants of the Lord. But He knows ; and they, I
am sure, believe how thoroughly I delighted in their
society. Had breakfast with dear M. Preen and his
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wife. He served for some years in the artillery. A
Christian in the French army is treated rather worse
than a Christian in our army. There was in Stras-
burg, in 1865, a Christian* woman who did all she
could to draw soldiers to thoughtful, godly lives.
This, of course, was opposed by the priests. A
garrison order made it fifteen days’ imprisonment for
any soldier to go to her house. This same, or the next
year, an officer of our army was reprimanded in
general orders, in Canada, for writing to the chaplain
of the garrison at Quebec, with the sanction of his
colonel, and requesting that he might he allowed to
teach the little children of his own regiment, who
were entirely neglected ! How sad it is to see men
holding high positions of authority lowering them-
selves to such petty persecutions to please the priests.
Preen paid no attention to an order so absurd, and
the consequence was his conversion to God, under
the teaching of this holy woman, who is the mother
in the faith of many French soldiers.
After breakfast I rode up with my dear brother
Mabille to visit the caves and dens in the mountain
above Morija, in which, for more than three years,
upwards of three hundred Christians were preserved
by the Lord during the war with the Boers, 1865-68.
About eight hundred souls altogether found shelter
here. When the war broke out, the churches of
Morija, Hermon, and Beersheba took refuge here.
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133
Morning and evening they prayed and sang praises.
Their enemies heard them, and fired, hut no cannon
ball could harm them ! Philemon , the schoolmaster of
Morija , was raised up by the Lord to be the pastor of
the churches in the dens. He was not appointed by
any missionary. For three years he watched over this
large congregation. Having nothing to do in these
rocks, there was much preaching and prayer. The
order of a chief moved some of the Christians to
another mountain ; even then Philemon looked after
them. At the end of the war all the churches were
increased , and a revival took place , which lasted for
two years l Philemon brought 100 converts to the
missionary at the close of the war, and there were 436
candidates for admission to the church of Morija ! So
mightily grew the word of God. After the war,
famine and then typhus fever tried the church of
Morija. Philemon devoted himself to attending the
sick and dying. He took the disease. When asked
whether he would like to go to the Lord, he said,
' Yes, very much.’ He was then asked whether he
would like to remain and work for the Lord. His
eyes brightened, and he said, ‘ Yes, very much.’ He
soon became unconscious. Shortly before he breathed
his last, he signed for the whistle, with which for three
years he had called the churches in the dens to prayer
and praise, and tried to sound it once more. It is very
painful to add, hut should be added as a warning to
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the weaker sex, that no Basnto woman would marry
Philemon, because he was ugly ! What a husband
they lost ! What a place in glory any woman might
have gained by being a faithful helpmeet to such a
faithful servant of God ! After the war he married,
but not happily. MM. Mabille, Maitin, and du
Yoisin remained in the country during this war, the
other missionaries being all compelled to leave by
the Boers. They visited their scattered churches.
Services wrere held, while look-outs watched the
various approaches. The Lord provided and pro-
tected His servants wonderfully. One of the
children once remarked to its mother, apropos of
their supply of flour for bread, ‘ Mother, I think God
alvjays hears us when we scrape the bottom of the
barrel !
A climb through these caves and dens was a great
pleasure to me. The bones of animals, ashes, grinding-
stones, bits of earthen vessels, were so many monu-
ments of the Lord’s gracious care of His children.
The rocks were magnificent. A Dutchman’s cannon
ball would be much like a pea against them ! On
the top of one of the rocks we sat, while I read
the closing verses of Heb. xi., and then praised the
Lord for His mighty deliverance of His people in
these dens.
The hour of farewell came. Commending each
other to the Lord, I said good-bye to my dear friends
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
135
M. and Mme. Dyke, and to dear M. Preen and his
wife, and the young men of the college, and then
went down to the station, to the homes of M. Mabille
and Dr. Casalis. My dear brother Mabille asked
me to visit Letsie, a son of Moshesh, on my
way to Thaba-Bosio, and offered to he my guide.
Entreating the Lord’s blessing on the children of
the two families and their parents, I rode away
from Morija.
We found Letsie at home. His kraal is built
under a magnificent kloof in the Morija mountain.
He is a heathen, who has long resisted the word of
God. After conversation I read to him Luke xiv. 3 1 .
Every sinner thinks himself a king, and that he has
strength equal to ten thousand ; but can he meet God,
who is coming against him vnth twenty thousand ? If
not, he had better take God’s conditions of peace in
Christ. Only the Lord can bring home His word.
This I never forget.
My dear brother rode with me to the mountain,
under which Solomon my guide and Solomon my
groom had offsaddled. Here we had to part, for a
heavy storm threatened, and it was late in the after-
noon. The Lord wonderfully shielded me. Twice
the storm came down the mountain close to me, and
was driven back. The very streams seemed held
back. We reached Thaba-Bosio soon after dark.
It was once the residence of Moshesh, chief of the
136 MISSION-FIELD OF THE CHURCH OF FRANCE.
Basutos, and is still dear to his people because of its
association with his name. M. and Mme. Jousse
received me most kindly. I fonnd in their home
two young ladies with whom I had travelled from
England; and the third, in charge of the girls’ hoarding
school, was the eldest daughter of dear M. Cochet.
Cfra bn = §osi0. — Ufosjresf)', Cfrief of %
§asttfos. — ||is Conversion. — §erea to
HlabnMa.
137
CHAP TEE IX.
This place was the capital of Basutoland.
‘ Moshesh's Mountain ’ will be a celebrated spot
while this tribe lasts. I will therefore refer to bis
life and character, as there was much in both worthy
of record. Moshesh’s early history, up to the time
that he invited the ministers of the Church of
France among his people, has been already given.
He was simply a young African chief, brave, daring,
and ambitious. As he grew up, however, and
especially from the time he received the missionaries,
his mind developed, and he certainly became, from
all accounts, one of the most remarkable public
characters of the present century. I wish to write
guardedly. I am not an extoller of heathen dark-
ness. Heathenism is diabolical in all its details.
Those who paint the mild savage, the innocent
native of Africa, are ignorant men. But Moshesh,
albeit he never confessed himself a Christian until
the last few days of his life, was in all that makes
up human greatness a great chief. He was a prince
139
140
THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
in every sense of the word. I am relieved of the
responsibility of further remark on this point. Mr.
Orpen, a British magistrate, who understands the
African character, and knew Moshesh well, thus
sketches him : ‘ The most original, able, enlightened ,
and upright barbarian chief that South Africa has
ever beheld. His humanity, his mildness, his love of
peace and justice, his horror of war, are conspicuous
on every occasion ; his forbearance under extreme
provocation, his steadfast fidelity and devotion
through evil report and good, his patience under
false suspicions and accusations, his magnanimity
and generosity, — the possession of these and many
more good qualities would almost lead us to believe
that our faithful and long-suffering “ ally,” as he
calls himself, was a Christian.’ Side by side with
this opinion I would put that of Sir George Cath-
cart, to whose acquaintance with Moshesh I must
presently refer. He alone of all the public men
who met Moshesh at once appreciated his character.
Thus he wrote of him after the battle of Berea :
‘ Another advantage I gained was in the acquaintance
with the chief Moshesh, whom I found not only to
be the most enlightened, but the most upright chief in
South Africa, and one in whose good faith I put the
most perfect confidence , and for whom, therefore , I
have a sincere respect and regard .’
I will leave Moshesh’s character in the hands of
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141
Sir George Cathcart and Mr. Orpen. I have thus
recorded it to show that all African chiefs, especially
those who may have come under the influence of
the word of God, are not the senseless and degraded
beings they are too often supposed to he by those
who do not know that God has made of one blood
all nations of men, and that He therefore has His
noblemen in all nations and classes. Moshesh from
the first paid great attention to the preaching of
God’s word. When the preaching was over, he
would repeat the whole sermon, point by point, and
explain it to those of his people who had not under-
stood it. Thus he no doubt received into his heart
much of the truth of the word of God, which,
unknown to himself, elevated and moulded his
character. He was very magnanimous. Attacked
in his mountain at Thaba-Bosio by a powerful
tribe, whom he defeated with loss, he sent oxen
after them when they retreated, and would not
allow them to be pursued : ‘ I suppose it was
hunger which made you attack me. Here is food.’
His next war was with the British, in 1852.
Sir George Cathcart, misled as to Moshesh’s real
character and intentions, led a force of British
troops into Basutoland in December that year. He
demanded 10,000 head of cattle, as a fine for some
marauding which Moshesh’s people were said to
have committed. Moshesh, who was most anxious
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to keep on good terms with the English, at once
sent to collect as many cattle as he could. The
following is the account given me by Moshesh’ s
messenger to Sir George Cathcart, then a brave
Basuto warrior, now a very faithful and earnest
Christian : — ‘ I took the cattle to Platberg on Satur-
day— 6000 head. It was such an immense herd
that we thought it must be enough. We could not
count well. Sir George Cathcart was very angry.
He sent for me and for Moshesh’s sons. Sir George
Cathcart said there were only 4000 cattle. We
begged three days’ respite, assuring him that Moshesh
would give all the cattle demanded, but we required
time to collect so many cattle. Sir George Cathcart
said: "It was not for a great chief like him to wait.
He would advance his camp to the Caledon on the
morrow, and Monday at daybreak he would go and
take the cattle.” The Basuto deputies were much
distressed. “ Owen [he appears to have been a
Christian on Sir George’s staff] called us, told us to
fear not, to trust in God, and to go and get as many
cattle as we could. He gave us food, and then led
us out of the camp.” The narrator went to Moshesh,
who was greatly troubled.’ Here I will take up
his narrative in the third person. Sir George Cath-
cart moved his camp on Sunday. One of the
French missionaries went to him that day, with
another messenger from Moshesh, to beg time to
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143
collect cattle. In vain. On Monday morning
early the British army advanced in two divisions, —
one under Colonel Eyre, commanding 73d Regi-
ment, the other under Sir George Cathcart. A
squadron of lancers accompanied Colonel Eyre’s
force. His description of what took place with
Colonel Eyre’s force on the top of the mountain is
most interesting, but this book is no record for such
events. Suffice it to say that the cavalry, which
was broken up into two parties, was beaten, being
overridden by the swarms of Basuto horsemen. The
British infantry, ably commanded, was manoeuvred
across the mountain in the face of masses of Basutos.
Colonel Eyre joined Sir George Cathcart just as he
was forced to retire. He retired in square, with cap-
tured cattle in the centre. The Basutos pressed him
on all sides until darkness separated the combatants.
The Basutos under Moshesh’s sons had planned a
night attack, in which the worn-out British soldiers
must have been overcome by the hosts of their foes,
when an order from Moshesh forbade any more
fighting. Next morning the following message was
sent by Moshesh to Sir George Cathcart. Could
any statesman in Europe have framed a more pithy
despatch ? Would any conqueror in Europe have so
treated an enemy ? ‘ 0 my master, I am still your
man ; I am still the child of the Queen ! Sometimes a
man beats his dog, and the dog puts his teeth into his
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hand and gives him a bite ; nevertheless the dog loves
the master, and the master loves the dog, and will not
kill it. I am ashamed of what happened yesterday.
Let it be forgotten ’ Peace was made. The British
force retired, having lost two officers and between
thirty and forty men killed, besides wounded. This
sad loss would have been avoided had Moshesh’s real
character and the honesty of his intentions towards
the British nation been known by Sir George Cathcart.
His next war was in 1858. The Boers invaded
Basutoland, and besieged Moshesh. He attacked
them and drove them away. In the war which
commenced in 1865, and lasted three years, the
Boers engaged a number of English adventurers from
the Colony, and by their means beat the Basutos.
They would have got the whole of Basutoland from
Moshesh, but his great seal was in the hands of his
friends the French missionaries, who, knowing wffiat
he wanted to do with it, would not give it up, until
notice was received from the British Government
that it had taken the Basuto tribe under its
protection.
This ends Moshesh’s political career. He was
an old man in this last war. His sons were
divided by jealousy, and thus the enemy obtained
an easy victory. Let us now turn to the closing
scenes of this remarkable life. I have obtained them
from those who took part in them.
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
145
Moshesh was ill for some months before he died.
His missionaries visited him frequently. ‘In 1869/
writes one of them, ‘ I visited him alone, and begged
a private interview. I spoke to him as one soon to
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and re-
minded him of the faithfulness of his missionaries,
who, although he was a chief, had never hidden the
truth from him, but had told him repeatedly that
he was a sinner, and could only he saved by the
blood of Christ. He wept bitterly all the time,
repeating frequently : “ I know it. It is all true.
What am I to do ? What is it that still holds me
back ? ” We prayed together, and he begged of me
to ask his missionaries never to give up praying for
him. “ Perhaps the Lord may still hear you,” he
said. I told him never to forget, even in his last
moments, that the blood of Christ alone saves from
sin. In 1870 we again visited him. The gospel
was preached in his room. He asked for a prayer
which he might use when we were gone. I ex-
plained that it was impossible to write a prayer to
suit all his needs, and suggested the publican’s
prayer. He got angry, and said : “ Who ever told
you that I was a sinner ? I shall get to heaven as
well as you.” We told him we hoped so, but the
way was Jesus, and there was no other. After
leaving his room one of his councillors ran after us,
and said : “ Do you know what I think of Moshesh ?
K
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He has got the Spirit [the term used by the natives
to express conviction of sin], but he is afraid to let
people know.” A few weeks after this a messenger
from the missionary of Thaba - Bosio called us,
saying that Moshesh was dying, and wished to see
his missionaries. To one of them he said : “ I hear
that your wife has a baby. How old is it?”
“ Three months old.” “ Then,” said the chief, “he is
just my age. I have only just been born. It is only
now I begin to be a man .” He asked this missionary
if he really believed that all that the missionaries
had taught him was true. He said, “ Yes.” “I believe
so also” said Moshesh. He then asked to see this
missionary’s wife and her child. On entering the
room she held out the child to him. He looked at
it for a moment, his eyes full of tears. “ My child,”
he said to her, “ your baby is my age, he is my
thaka ” (one of the same age) ; then pressing her
hand, “ You have shown me the road. I shall get to
Jesus.” One night before this he repeated, in great
anguish, “ Where am I going to ? ” After this night
he appeared to take no more interest in earthly
things. His desire was to go to his Bather.
“ When a child is called by its father , ought it not to
go ? ” were his words of faith and hope.
‘ The day before his death he sent us a message.
“ Tell them they will be too late.” His missionaries
were to unite to witness his baptism on Sunday, but
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he was called away on Friday. To the missionary’s
wife above referred to he sent this message : “ Tell
my little girl and my son-in-law [her husband] not
to be anxious about me, but to trust a great deal.
They showed me the way, and I go to Jesus.” His
last instructions were: “ Let my missionaries not weary
to teach my people, and especially my sons. Although
I know that my sons will not treat them as I did, for
all that let them not give them up. Kiss also that
little child Thaka Moshesh ; may he grow up to he
a great blessing to my people.” A moment before
he breathed his last, he said, “ Hold me up, that I
mayfly:”
I trust that the perusal of this simple and truth-
ful account of the last days of this African chief
will cheer and encourage many a servant of the
Lord Jesus not to be weary in seeking to win souls
to Him, knowing that ‘ in due season ye shall reap
if ye faint not * I cannot close the history of the
life of this most remarkable man in better words
than in hers whom Moshesh so tenderly called his
little girl : ‘ May the Lord make use of this narrative
to prove once more that what is impossible with man
is possible with God, and that the hearts of kings
and even of old heathen chiefs are in His hands!
Dec. 16, 1874. — Awoke cast down, by reason
of my unprofitableness. But, as is my wont, went
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out to look at God’s works and meditate on Him.
Before me rose Moshesh’s Mountain. I sat on a
stone in the garden, at my feet a bed of chrysan-
themums of many colours. The Lord spoke to me
by them. He had made them — all of one kind,
though diverse in colour and size. So in His
Church, various graces and degrees of grace. I
marvelled which I liked best, — scarlet, pink, yellow,
white. All were beautiful. Which grace would I
have if the Lord gave me my choice, — faith, wisdom,
knowledge, courage ? After much thought I chose
the white — humility. ‘ Yea, Lord, give me this
grace, to be humble, to be like Thee, to be content
to be white in Thy holiness, and nothing more.
Thou wilt serve Thyself by me.’ My soul was
instantly filled with joy. The cloud vanished, and
has not since returned.
This brief trial was followed by a day of much
joy. The elders and teachers had been at Morija
while I was preaching on the first Load’s day, and
the people were all waiting to welcome me. The
large church, which must hold a thousand or more,
was crammed, and many could not find room. The
Lord gave me as His message to them, His kingdom
now, in spirit and power, in the hearts of men,
drawn to Him by the love of God, but soon to be
in glory for ever. As I spoke, it seemed as if the
place was filled with His glory. At the close of
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the preaching two of Moshesh’s sons came to salute
me. Both had professed faith in the Lord Jesus,
both had turned back. I spoke to them earnestly,
reading to them, as I always do to apostates and
undecided hearers, that awful declaration, that
the cowards (fearful) and unbelieving will share
the lake of fire with the abominable and all liars
(Rev. xxi. 8).
My dear brother M. Jousse had arranged that I
might meet the Christians alone, and I enjoyed
another meeting with them in the afternoon. There
was a goodly assembly. After parting with them,
I walked with my brother to the river. We lay
on a rock over the stream, and talked of God. The
music of the waters was sweet, but sweeter were
some English hymns of praise which the girls of
the Basuto boarding-school sang by the river-side,
just above us. As we were walking back, my
brother pointed out to me a large rock, as it were
held up, in the middle of a regular mountain slide,
and under it a Kaffir hut. ‘ An old Christian
widow lived in that hut/ he said, c and had not that
piece of rock been stopped in its fall, it would have
crushed her in her hut.’ There was apparently
nothing to stay its descent, but He who beats back
the sea by grains of sand is not at a loss for means
in nature as in grace. When trials threaten, re-
member f the widow’s rock ’ in Basutoland.
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In the evening we went over to the girls’ board-
ing-school, which is under the care of Mdlle. Cochet.
My heart always goes out to the young women of
heathen nations who are seeking the Lord. They
must have many trials. I trust the Lord gave them
some help through the word He gave me for them.
Dec. 17. — In the morning spoke with the can-
didates for joining the church on James ii. — faith
is proved by works. After this I spoke to the
school. I then had the pleasure of calling on a
daughter of M. Lemue, whose labours have been
noticed in this hook, hut are far more fully re-
corded above. In the afternoon M. Jousse proposed
a ride to the top of Moshesh’s Mountain. We had
to lead our horses up the steep ascent, composed
of bits of rock. I was not surprised that only five
men gained the summit when the Boers tried to
take the mountain. I regret to write that all were
killed, for I look on a soldier’s courage now as
worthy of a better use and better reward than battle
and vainglory afford. After passing Moshesh’s
house we met four of his sons and some people,
whom I urged to follow Moshesh’s faith and life.
Another of his sons now joined us, and after prayer
that the Lord of Moshesh would cause His gospel to
spread far and wide in Basutoland, we rode round
part of the mountain. My brother led me to a
grave covered with stones. At the head, on a rough
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151
stone, simply carved, was, ‘ Moshesh! I looked at
that name with reverence, and at once this text
came into my mind as his fitting epitaph, * Thy
gentleness hath made me great .’ I need add no more.
His son pointed out to me, as we were riding back,
the ground over which the British army retreated
before the Basutos in 1852. My soldier’s eye
pictured the whole scene ; and I could not but
honour the self-possession and wisdom of his great
father, who, watching the defeat of his enemies
from the door of his own house, stayed his hand in
the moment of victory, and asked for peace.
Visited the evening school for the herd-boys, and
again delighted in the success of these Basuto even-
ing schools. Spoke a few words to the boys, and
then went for a parting visit to the girls’ boarding-
school. I had inspected the premises of the insti-
tution during the day, and admired their simplicity
and cleanliness.
Dec. 18. — Bade farewell to this charming spot.
I could have remained gladly, but the Master’s
work did not permit. I had now the pleasure of
escorting Mdlle. Keck, a daughter of one of the
brethren I had yet to visit. We ascended the Berea
Mountain, and crossed part of the battlefield. I
have hard work to hold in my pen, but it must be
done. A warm welcome awaited us from M. and
Mme. Maitin and M. and Mme. du Voisin, the Lord’s
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servants at the mission -station of Berea. Mme.
Maitin and I had a mutual friend in one of my
grandfather’s children in the faith, and this made
our meeting in Africa all the more pleasant.
The residence of Mr. Griffiths, the British Com-
missioner, being about two hours’ ride from Berea,
and the word of the Lord commanding ‘ honour to
whom honour,’ I rode over to Maseru with M. du
Voisin to pay my respects. Mr. Griffiths was away,
but I had the pleasure of meeting his wife and
children. It is due to him to state that he bears
the reputation of a wise and good governor, which
I believe he deserves. I cannot, however, refrain
from expressing my deep regret that he has invited
the Anglicans into Basutoland ; and I can foresee
much injury to the cause of peace and to the work
of the Lord in the Basuto tribe by the introduction
of Bitualism, and a religious system, favoured by
Government, which denies the spiritual authority of
the ministers of the Church of France. I told my
French brethren that they ought to have selected
the one of their number who they thought would
have been most acceptable as a neighbour and friend
to Mr. Griffiths and his family, and to have estab-
lished a station at Maseru. They appeared to think
that Mr. Griffiths would not have approved of such
an arrangement. The Lord knoweth. The Lord
reigneth.
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Bode back to Berea with the setting sun, admiring
a magnificent entrance to one of the Lord’s parks, —
a perpendicular break in the mountain along our
road.
Dec. 19. — My elder brother, M. Maitin, had
arranged a meeting of his church in preparation for
the commemoration of the Lord’s death next day.
It was joy to speak to the church from the word of
God. It was a solemn meeting. Afterwards my
brother introduced to me Isaiah, a Basuto evan-
gelist, who had carried the gospel to the regions
beyond, and had been much blessed by the Lord.
I purpose to give a history of his labours in the
closing chapter. It was late before our native
brethren departed. I enjoyed the quiet of the
remainder of this day.
Dec. 2 0. — Lord's Day. — There was no room in the
house of prayer for the number who came to the
morning service. It was a lovely day, and we
assembled outside. Before commencing, I looked
at the mountain to my right. There were the rocks
down which the lancers fled, defeated and broken.
I could see it all. Farther on was the road by
which the British infantry ascended the mountain.
I could see the scarlet line slowly moving on, and
the puffs of white smoke which told that battle had
begun ! My soul was too full to praise the Lord.
Blessed be His name that I was not this day an
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officer commanding a British army making war on
the Basutos, but a humble witness for Him, standing
in love among them. It gave keenness to my joy
in preaching to them on John vi. : ‘ Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life.5 He is all man needs,
and the soul that feeds on the fact that His body was
broken, His blood shed for its sins, and receives Him
now on the throne of God as its Saviour, has life.
We remembered His love in the afternoon in a
very full church. A most blessed scene ! In the
evening I spoke to the school, and read them the
letter I read to the Morija children, as the Berea
children had been ‘ more noble5 than all the others
in helping the poor London children. I therefore
promised them a feast on Christmas day, which
they duly enjoyed.
Dec. 21. — Farewell once more, but to meet, thank
God, again. Putting my companion on a very good
pony of my own, we started for her home at Mabu-
lela. We had to cross the Caledon river, and I
shall not forget the bad behaviour of that same
pony on this occasion. ‘ Patience worketh experi-
ence.5 The horses were led through, and my friend
and I crossed in a boat. While offsaddled, we
called on the boatman and his wife, and read the
word to them. The Lord sent a carriage behind us
soon after my friend told me that she was tired. I
felt sure it was for her, but I had not faith to stop
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and ask a lift for her, as there were two roads, and
the owner might not be going ours. However he
soon passed us, and I asked him if he were going
near M. Keck’s house. He said, ' Yes and I had
the pleasure of seeing my companion going on com-
fortably to her home in a carriage and pair. Good
is the Lord.
I was, of course, doubly welcome for bringing
back a daughter to M. and Mme. Keck. The school
children came to welcome me, and sang hymns ; and
I joined with the church in their evening prayer
meeting.
JStebttltla, Cana, tic.
CHAPTEE X.
Dec. 22. — A year ago to-day I left in y dear wife
and child in London. The Lord has fully performed
all the promises of His word to those who leave wife ,
child , and lands for His sake and the gospel's, and
that exceeding abundantly above all I asked or thought.
I need not write more about His grace and power ;
these can he experienced by any who will believe
in and trust Him. I enjoyed a meeting morning
and evening with the church at Mabulela, and also
speaking in the afternoon to the children. It ought
to be noticed that this mission is in that part of
Basutoland which was taken by the Boers in the
war of 1865, and is therefore now in the Free
State. The Boer Government permitted M. Keck
and the Basuto church to remain, and granted a
tract of land to support the mission.
In remembering the incidents of a day, how pre-
cious are the utterances of children about God and
heaven ! One of my dear brother’s little girls is
blind. She would come and talk to me in French,
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and remark on the hymns her sisters sang. After
one about heaven, she said to me, with a sweet
smile, ‘ Joli, n’est ce pas ? nous serons tous blancs
dans le ciel.’ (Beautiful, is it not ? we shall be all
white in heaven.)
Dec. 23. — Joined in the morning prayer meeting,
and then started from this pleasant home in rain.
There is something damping in a heavy drizzle, and
I was reminded thereby of my sadness when em-
barking at Dartmouth this day year. But my soul
was at once filled with praise to the Lord for His
mercies since then, and with confidence for the
future. The heavy rain yesterday had filled the
Caledon, and we had to swim the horses over.
After crossing in the boat, a trader invited me into
his house, and thus I was sheltered from a heavy
storm. Having partaken of his food, and broken to
him the bread of life, I rode on. A station of Eng-
lish police demanded a call. Among them I, found
one of my old soldiers. The officers in charge were
very kind to me, and allowed me to visit and speak
to the men. I have seldom enjoyed anything more
than preaching to those British policemen in that
hut barrack in Africa. It quite made up for a ride
in the rain to Cana, which I reached just as dark-
ness came on, and where I found an old friend in
Mme. Kohler, and a new one in her husband. They
had not quite finished their first house, but the roof
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161
was on, and one learns in Africa to value a good
roof on a wet night above a Turkey carpet.
Dec. 24. — Cana is a new station, and my brother
Kohler had had a year’s experience alone, without wife
or friend, in the midst of a heathen population. I
purpose to remark on this subject by and by. The
morning was clear, and four or five persons sat
under the shelter of a reed screen while my brother
conducted morning prayer. There was another meet-
ing later, to which about twenty or thirty came,
when I preached Christ to the heathen, and to the
few who believed in Him. There is something
which speaks to the heart of a Christian in such
circumstances as these. ‘ Who hath despised the day
of small things V What believer in the Lord Jesus,
taught of Him, would not as soon sit down and
declare His grace to two or three Basutos as to a
congregation in Westminster Abbey? How great
the honour to do any little service for Him !
I was much amused after the service by a tall
heathen, who came tempting me. ‘ I am very hungry;
I want food.’ As he began to speak, I felt, as I
always feel when any heathen comes to me unless to
speak of his soul, that he is sent of Satan, and, like
a snail into its shell, I retire into the word and
prayer. ‘ Did you not eat before you started V x No.’
‘ In my country, when we go out for a day, we carry
or buy food. Did you bring none?’ ‘Ho.’ 'I
L
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cannot ask the missionary for food, because you
ought to give him food, and not he to you.’ ‘ I’m
very hungry.’ ‘ Have you no friends near V ‘ No.’
‘Will none of your countrymen give you food?’
‘ No.’ This I knew was a lie, for food and hos-
pitality are a right among the Kaffir tribes. ‘ Well,
God’s word commands that they that preach the
gospel should live of the gospel. I will read this
to you. It means that you should give food to your
missionary, not beg food of him. I have no food,
or I would give it to you, hut I cannot ask your
missionary for any for you.’ The man hurst out
laughing, and so did those around. ‘ I only did this
to see what you would say.’ ‘ I answered you accord-
ding to God’s word.’ ‘ Yes, I know you did ;’ and
then he added, ‘ How can so young a man as you are
know God’s word V ‘ Because I read it.’ ‘ Could I
learn it V I told him he could ; and after urging him
not to despise the salvation of Christ, we parted.
I felt very thankful for the lesson he had taught me.
Gladly would I have remained with my dear
brother and his wife for some days, hut I had been
asked to spend Christmas day with M. and Mme.
Coillard at Leribe. I had promised to he with them,
if possible, to-day; and having by the Lord’s goodness
kept all my arrangements during this ride, I felt it
right to go on. With deep sympathy for my dear
brother and his young bride in their work of the
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Lord, I bade them farewell, and then called on an old
Hottentot woman, confined to the house by age. A
few words about the Lord Jesus caused her to burst
out into a hymn of praise, which she sang with the
tears fast rolling down her eyes. Eeceiving her
blessing for my journey, I rode on. In less than an
hour we came to the Puteasana, a small river, which
we were obliged to swim on horseback, as the rains
of yesterday and last night had filled it. My three
horses proved to be capital swimmers, for which I
praised the Lord. There was some necessary delay
in crossing, which brought us, after a pleasant ride,
just at sunset, to a kraal on the Tsiquaui, where
my guide suggested we should sleep. Mathias, the
schoolmaster, received us kindly, but he was sorely
perplexed at our unexpected arrival. However, we
soon assured him that we were thankful for a night’s
shelter, and were easily pleased. Solomon suggested
the manufacture of some isitubi — crushed mealies
and milk — which was excellent. There was a
lovely moon ; and while my native brethren were
chatting away after the evening prayer, I sat outside,
thinking of the shepherds of Bethlehem and their
angel visitors. My Basuto brother had lent me a
new red blanket. The evening was chilly, so I
wrapped myself in it ; and as the scarlet shone in the
moonlight, I felt myself as good as a cardinal, and as
much better as Christ is better than Rome. ‘ Hot I,
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but Christ liveth in me.’ This should be the
Christian’s life.
Dec. 2 5 . — Christmas Day. — Alovely morning. Prais-
ing Him who was born man for man’s sake, I strolled
forth to enjoy His works. My path led me down a
stream, where, in a bed of sand icebergs, stalactites,
and other effects of rain, I enjoyed a bathe under a
waterfall. Solomon had prepared more isitubi for
breakfast, and when this was over we gathered in the
outer court of one of the huts to praise the Lord. I
had invited the people from neighbouring kraals, and
about twenty-five gathered. One of the elders prayed
and gave out the hymns. I spoke on the angels’
message to the shepherds of Bethlehem. During the
service a good swimmer arrived. He said the river
before us was very full, but he had come to help me
through it. I felt the care of the Lord in this, and
we rode on. We soon reached the Tlotse, and, fol-
lowing my guide, who was on horseback, I swam the
river on my faithful old pack-horse. It was much
larger than the Puteasana. I felt as I was crossing
the river the contrast between my position in Africa
and my former life in England, and praised the Lord
for giving me such experiences of His presence and
love.
Arrived at the mission-house of Leribe about mid-
day. This is the northernmost of the mission-stations
in Basutoland. I feel I am not taking any liberty
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when I state that my dear brother and sister Coillard
gave me a hearty welcome. My soul was full of
praise, for it is written, ‘ The desire accomplished is
sweet to the soul .’ The Lord had given me the desire
of my heart when I left England, — I had visited
all the mission-stations of the Church of France in
Basutoland !
It was His will to give me here a very sweet season
of rest. I had no thought of it when I arrived, but,
desiring not to pass the week in prayer on the line
of march, I was led to spend it with my dear brother
and his church here, and thus the Lord led me to
remain and rest awhile. It is a charming spot, — the
mountains near and far are witnesses of God’s
strength. The garden, the house, and the well-built
house of prayer are a testimony that the Lord has
blessed His servant, and prospered the work of his
hands. But more than all, a small church of earnest,
warm-hearted Christians made it such a place as one
would delight to dwell in, did not the King’s service
call elsewhere.
I had expected letters from my wife here, and I
should have had them to-day but for my unbelief.
I was told that I could not get through the rivers
I had swam, and I therefore asked to have my letters
sent to Cana. Had I trusted in the Lord to take
me on my journey, I should have enjoyed this plea-
sure, to which I had been long looking forward.
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However, I prayed that if the letters were in Basuto-
land I might soon get them.
Dec. 26. — There was a meeting of the church in
the morning. My dear brother introduced me to
his people, and I spoke to them on these precious
words : ‘ By whom we have received grace ! All grace
of every kind the gift of Christ ; for it hath pleased
the Father that in Him should dwell all the ful-
ness of the Godhead by embodiment. I had just
finished praying for grace and patience when my
letters came, kindly forwarded by Major Bell, one
of the magistrates, by a special messenger. Thus
the Lord answered my prayer. After enjoying my
home letters, I spent the evening in prayer with my
brother and his dear wife.
Dec. 27-31. — On the Lord’s day I spoke from
Luke xv. The house of prayer was nearly filled,
and I enjoyed giving my testimony to the love
and grace of God. My dear brother Coillard, like
all his brethren in this mission, has good cause to
praise the Lord for all His blessings. Just as he
commenced the station in 1865, he was driven from
it by the Boers. Obliged to go to Natal, he laboured
there for some time with his American brethren.
Returning to Leribe at the close of the war, he was
in the middle of building the handsome stone house
of prayer which now adorns the station, when the
war between France and Germany broke out. The
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167
Lord moved his friends in Natal to help him, and
the building is finished. The whole of it is well
done, in good taste, and beautiful in its simplicity.
The Sunday school this afternoon was a very
pretty sight, — clusters of boys and girls, and often
heathen women, seated at the feet or by the side of
Christian women. The young men were in classes
taught by men. All were learning the same lesson,
all being taught out of God’s word.
The commemoration of our Lord’s death followed.
'Who, instead of the joy set before Him, endured
the cross,’ was the word I felt important for our
constant meditation and imitation. We are com-
manded to consider Him enduring suffering instead
of joy, lest we be weary and faint in our minds.
Next day the church gathered again, and the
Lord led me to dwell on His declaration that they
are blessed who hear and keep the word of God.
How great the value of God’s written word ! How
great the blessing of hearing its promises and be-
lieving them ! What present peace and power are
enjoyed in accepting and using God’s word ! After-
wards I spoke alone to the workers on 2 Cor. iii.,
Col. i., ii., — the all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, by
the Father’s will, for the need of all His servants.
On Wednesday I called with my dear brother
on Major Bell, and on Molapo, one of Moshesh’s
sons. I thanked the Major for kindly sending me
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my letters. Molapo was ‘not at home,’ so his
servant said, and we rode back to the station.
Rain came on as we neared it, and in one hour the
valley along which we had ridden became a lake,
and the road we had taken was impassable !
The last day of the year ought to lead every man
to a solemn retrospect before God of all his words
and acts during that year, for God will judge them ;
and it is written, ‘ If we judge ourselves, we shall
not be condemned of the Lord.’ If we condemn
and confess to the Lord our own sinfulness, unbelief,
unfaithfulness, ingratitude, and impatience, and
accept full pardon as the gift of God through the
atonement of our Lord, we shall never be condemned
by God for those sins. Blessed, blessed truth ! Oh
that all knew it, believed it, obeyed it ! Confession,
thanksgiving, and prayer were this day’s occupation.
The old year passed away and the new year opened
during a few moments of silent prayer, in com-
munion with my dear brother and his wife, and
tens of thousands of Christians throughout the
whole world !
Jan. 1, 1875. — ‘ Ye know not what shall be on
the morrow .’ How sad the state of that man who,
professing to be civilised, enlightened, intelligent,
does not pray in Christ’s name, ‘ Prepare mercy and
truth , let them continually preserve me What in-
surance has he for his reason, his substance, his
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soul, during the new year ? Does not God’s word
cry to all such, ' 0 ye fools, when will ye under-
stand V
We had meetings with the church for prayer
this and the following day because of the New
Year, and in preparation for the week of prayer.
From the 3 d to the 10 th. — From the first to the
second Lord’s day of the year, the Church of Christ
throughout the world gave itself to special prayer.
So abundantly had my prayers been answered in
the previous year, that I could not omit this blessed
week of prayer and supplication, much as I wished
to get to Pieter-Maritzberg before the soldiers I
had commanded at Singapore embarked for England.
The Lord ordered this rest, which was prolonged
to the 15th, to strengthen Solomon, myself, and my
horses for the long journey back.
My beloved brother permitted me the word of
exhortation whenever the Lord gave me anything
to speak. On the first Lord’s day I preached on
Jesus, Prophet, Priest, and King, — the opening
subject of the week’s meditation, — with great joy.
Meetings were held morning and evening in the
church. On Wednesday, the day of prayer for
children, all the young people were invited to
attend ; and while prayer was being made for them,
the Spirit of the Lord came down upon them, and
sixteen were, I believe, that morning led to Christ.
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We met at sunrise, and it was well towards mid-day
before our meeting closed. On Thursday, in speak-
ing of the way in which the Lord causes religious
liberty to be established in a nation, — instancing the
trial of the three Jews in the furnace at Babylon, — I
remarked that this was always brought about by
the faithful suffering of His people. The native
Christians were much affected. They said they had
a golden calf in their land, — Polygamy. Whoever
would not worship that was cast into a fiery furnace.
Their chiefs have a right to the labour of the people
in their fields. The Christians till the fields of the
chief and his first wife, but they will not dig the
fields of his second and twenty-second wives, hence
they are persecuted ! Very fervently did they pray
that they might never worship this or any other
golden calf, but might suffer rather unto death.
This was a memorable week to me. I saw much
of the little Basuto church here, and its faithful
pastor, and I learned more of the customs and
thoughts of this tribe than before. Nathaniel,
Solomon, Petros, Moses, Mamousa, Damaris, Bahab,
Pelicitas, Mareka, and others will ever be dear to
my memory. Each have a history. Mamousa and
Eahab were wives of Molapo. Eervently do they
pray for the conversion of that apostate chief.
Damaris is a Zulu woman, led to Christ in Basuto-
land. Her efforts to pray in broken Lesuto were
CHUECH OF FRANCE.
171
great, when one day, to her joy, the missionary told
her that God understood Zulu as well as Lesuto,
and then her tongue was loosed in praise and prayer,
which never cease. She was an old woman when
converted, and, like all old Kaffir women, was set
aside to eat, drink, sleep, and die. A new physical
life came with the spiritual. She rose, took her
hoe, went off to her fields, and now laughingly tells
how she deceives the people by walking and running
like a girl ! This extraordinary power of soul over
body is a fact probably well known to every ex-
perienced Christian. Little Mareka’s is the brightest
face of all. He was listening to a sermon on the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus when that grand fact
entered his soul. After this he would tap at
Damans’ door before sunrise every morning. ' Who
is there ? ’ ‘ Mareka.’ * What do you want ? ’
‘ The Lord Christ is risen, Damaris ; let me in.’
She would open the door, and tell her delighted
little visitor stories of His blessed life on earth. I
never saw a brighter face than that of this little
black Basuto boy. He is now about eight years
old ; but his manner, bearing, and expression of
face are those of a Christian who has long walked
humbly with his God. Nathaniel was one of
Moshesh’s favourite warriors, — a brave man, and a
chief by right. He might have been one of the
leading men in his tribe, but he has chosen the
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THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
reproach of Christ, which lowers him in the eyes of
his heathen countrymen. As an old soldier, and
one whose case had been somewhat similar, my
heart clave to his heart. We had many interesting
conversations. One morning at breakfast he asked
me whether I had learnt any Basuto words. I said,
‘ Morena Yesu ’ — the Lord Jesus. Nathaniel then
gave me the word ‘ topollo ’ — salvation, explaining
its meaning thus : — It is a Basuto custom in war,
when a man surrenders, to throw up his two arms
like the horns of an ox. His life is spared, hut he
has to pay an ox, which is ‘ topollo ’ — ransom, or
salvation. He said we were slaves, were caught by
sin, and ready to be killed. The Lord Jesus ap-
peared, we lifted up our hands to Him, and that
was * topollo.’ Man is taken prisoner, he added,
and could never get free if the ox had not been
paid. Hence the Basuto Christians sometimes call
the Lord Jesus the Ox of Salvation, as the Kaffirs call
Him ‘Hlati-kutu — the great forest/ their refuge.
On the second Lord’s day, the 10th, I went with
my brother to preach at Molapo’s kraal. Poor man !
I feel for him, as for every apostate. There was
apparently no doubt of his conversion, but the lust
of polygamy has dragged him away from the Lord.
I warned him faithfully, as I did his brothers, that
the hand must be cut off, the eye put out, rather
than hell with both hands and eyes. He looked
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
173
miserable, as he doubtless is, for he has added
treachery to man to apostasy from God. It was at
this very spot where I preached that Langabalile
was ‘ captured/ He was invited by Molapo to his
kraal as a friend, and was received on arrival by a
large force of English police ! I should be very
sorry to think that any English officer had anything
to do with the suggestion of this act of treachery ;
for, apart from the baseness of such conduct, it is
not sound policy to teach native subjects what may
be afterwards practised to the great injury of the
State. Langabalile had been very kind to the
Basutos during the war with the Boers, had shel-
tered them and given them food. To his credit be
it here recorded, that when Nathaniel was told that
Langabalile had been trapped into Molapo’s village,
and was a prisoner in the hands of the English, he
declined to go and see him. ‘ We have eaten his
food, he sheltered us from the enemy, I cannot look
on his sorrow/ The Basutos are very loyal to the
Government, but neither they nor other men in
their right minds approve of treachery.
I must now leave Leribe, but, apart from the place
and event just referred to, it will be ever a green
spot in my memory. On the morning of the 15th
the church assembled, and we partook together of
the Lord’s Supper. It was purposed that a season
of prayer should follow, but the service closed
174
THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
without it. The Lord, however, gave me this desire,
for just as we were starting in the afternoon a
heavy storm came up the valley, and while it passed
over the station my brethren and I were engaged in
prayer in the schoolroom. ‘ Good-bye, my dear
sister/ was my parting salutation to my most kind
hostess. Her husband and Nathaniel accompanied
me part of the way. ‘ Nathaniel/ said I, as we
rode along, ‘ when Christians are about to part, they
should spend their last moments in seeking to build
one another up in their most holy faith. The Lord
bids me remind you of the secret of strength. His
people have died, and been buried to the world and
to sin, and are now in union with Him in resurrec-
tion-life.’ Conversing on the glorious standing of
the believer in Christ, we approached a rock which
towered high above the plain. Here we dismounted,
commended each other and the Church in Basuto-
land in prayer to the Lord, greeted one another with
an holy kiss, and then parted. The sight of that
rock brought to my mind a favourite prayer :
‘ When my heart is overwhelmed within me, lead
me to the Rock that is higher than 1/ Pointing to
the rock, a fit emblem of the strength, power, and
salvation of the Lord Jesus, my last words to my
dear brethren were on the blessed teaching of this
portion of the word. May we never forget it in
our hour of need !
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
175
It was dark when I reached Boutabouta, already
referred to as the birthplace of Moshesh. Mr. Bell,
a trader, had invited me to his house, and I spent
the evening with his family. Solomon brought the
horses when the moon rose, and I went on to sleep
at the evangelist’s hut. Evening prayer and repose.
1 §ih. — In the saddle before the sun rose. My
dear brother Coillard had lent Solomon and myself
his two horses. They were fresh and strong. We
offsaddled to breakfast at a large kraal, where a
crowd of men, women, and children assembled to
hear the word. I was quite delighted with the
way in which the little children came round me.
The scenery on entering the Drakenberg Mountains
is grand. I saw here a touch of nature, the simpli-
city of which I could not but admire. Thousands
of vultures had their nests in these passes. The
magnificent red rocks were touched with white, as
with an artist’s brush. It was not until I came
close to them that I observed that this was from
the vultures’ dung. There is no loss of expedients
with the Lord for beautifying the world He has
created for man, but through which most men pass
as if they were blind or dead. We offsaddled
under one of these rocks. Hundreds of young
vultures screamed for food from God above us.
The stream rippled away in music at our feet.
The grass was green and soft. I enjoyed the short
176
THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE
repose, for we could not rest long. Farther on,
Solomon and my guide stopped to look for mushrooms ;
this delayed me half-an-hour. Darkness came on,
and we were nearly obliged to spend the night in the
mountains. The Lord, however, came to my help :
repeated flashes of distant lightning showed me the
mission-house of Witzieshoek , and I was thankful to
find myself under the roof of M. Maeder, son of the
missionary of Siloe. May the Lord preserve me
from looking for mushrooms as I near the end of
my journey ! Nothing but the lightning of His
judgments can make a Christian who thus acts see
the home God has prepared for him.
1*7 th. — Lord's Day. — This mission, albeit it belongs
to the Dutch Deformed Church, is in reality a child
of the Mission of the Church of France. Not only
is the missionary a son of that mission, but the
chief, Mopeli, is a brother of Moshesh, and all his
people are Basutos. It was during the Boer war
that Mopeli asked to come here with his people.
The French Church continued its care of the few
Christians as well as it could, until the mission was
undertaken by the Dutch Deformed Church, as
Witzieshoek is in the Free State, and not in
Basutoland. Mopeli and many of his people came
to morning service. We assembled under the mag-
nificent mountains, and I felt that no man in
Europe was going to preach in a cathedral half as
CHURCH OF FRANCE.
177
grand as mine. The parable of the tares of the
field was my subject. How clearly is the truth of
Christ’s teaching set forth by it ! How fully will it
be completed in all its details ! I believe the word
was blessed. One man said to me next day, ‘I
want to shine like the sun in the kingdom of my
Father.’ Mopeli worships the golden calf Poly-
gamy. This keeps him, as it does all who worship
lust, from Christ. I spake plainly to him as to all.
There are two things which keep most men from
Christ , pride or lust. You must cut them off \ or
perish. As a man, he is very gentlemanly, and I
could quite picture Moshesh from my conversation
with him. After the morning service I spoke to
the children in M. Maeder’s unfinished house,
where we took shelter from the rain. Mopeli’s
eldest son, who had been educated at Cape Town,
interpreted for me, and kindly came next day to
perform the same office. He is not a professed
Christian. May the Lord instruct him ! ‘ How
hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom
of God!
M
Cjjt Mbmir of f be £ulu. — Origin of tbe Jforrign:
glisstoits of tht Ctjurrfr of |lnurica, anb
Ifisiorg of tbeir fissions to tbe gtaiafole
atrtr lulu (Tribes.
t"»
CHAPTEE XI.
I must now leave the Drakenberg. Having passed
much of the 18 th January in private conversation
with the members of the little church of Witzies-
hoek, and having received two friendly visits from
Commandant Eaath, the Dutch magistrate, I started
early on the 19 th to pass out of the mountains into
Natal. M. Maeder rode with me part of the way.
After fording a river, the road lay up a spur of the
outer range of the mountains, and I had a ride of
wonderful beauty. When we gained the top the
air was delicious, aud in a few minutes the plains
of Natal were before my feet. I could look down
the mountains, but a heavy storm hid the view be-
yond. As the clouds were driven by the wind, I
was permitted to obtain occasional glimpses of the
distant landscape. Here I parted with my dear
brother Coillard’s guide and his horses, for both of
which I was most thankful. M. Maeder’ s servant
became my guide onwards. I never parted from
my guides without prayer with them. As we
181
182
AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
descended the mountains the storm cleared away.
We crossed the Tugela ‘in seven streams/ instead
of swimming it lower down. Praising the Lord for
having brought us safely through the mountains at
this rainy season of the year, we offsaddled near
the river. I will leave Solomon to light a fire and
make coffee, while I note what led me into the land
of the Zulu.
It was not my intention when I set forth on this
ride to visit hiatal. I had often wished that I
could see the American missions there, but I had
abandoned all thought of so doing, on account of
the heat of Natal, and the length of the journey.
However, when I found myself, by the power of
the Lord, in the north of Basutoland, above that
country, it became a question whether I should
cross the mountains and visit my American brethren,
or return the way I came. The Lord had so mar-
vellously strengthened me, that I felt sure He would
continue this mercy, if He willed that I should go
to them. I laid the matter before Him in prayer.
It was recalled to my mind, that in coming to South
Africa I had prayed that I might be a witness for
the Lord throughout the land. This was the answer
to my prayer. I could not doubt the Lord’s will,
and with much joy I started to visit the American
missionaries. I had received very great blessing
through intercourse with American Christians. I
/
ZULU AND MATABELE.
183
owed the Church of America a debt of gratitude for
this, and I felt that I could not better show it than
by going to try and cheer these their dear brethren
in their labours of love.
Once more it is my pleasure to call attention to
the ways of the Lord in the origin of the foreign
missions of the Church of America. Very few of
those who may read this book will have heard it.
It stands like the prayer of the three who opened
the Bible Stand of the Crystal Palace, and of the
seven who started the Young Men’s Christian Asso-
ciation, as a testimony of what God can do in
answer to desiring, believing prayer.
* One afternoon in July or August 1806, five
students of the William’s College, Boston, went out
together to join in a prayer meeting which was
usually held in a grove near the West College. It
was oppressively hot, which detained those from the
East College. A storm came on, and they took
shelter under a haystack. The moral darkness of
Asia, the geography of which they were then study-
ing, was the subject of conversation before and after
they sought shelter from the rain. The names of
the five were Samuel J. Mills, James Bichards,
Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram
Green. Mills 'proposed that they should send the
gospel to Asia, and said that they could do it if they
would. All agreed and were delighted with the
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AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
proposal except Loomis, who contended that it was
premature. He was answered that God was always
willing that the gospel should be preached through-
out the world, and if the Christian Church was will-
ing and active this would be done. “ Come,” said
Mills, “ let us make it a subject of prayer under this
haystack, while the dark clouds are going, and the
bright clouds are coming.” All joined in prayer
except Loomis. There had been much thunder and
lightning, and Mills, who prayed last, became quite
enthusiastic, and prayed that God would “ strike
down by the red artillery of heaven the arm that
should be raised against a herald of the cross.”
They then sang together this stanza,- —
* “ Let all the heathen writers join
To form one perfect book ;
Great God, if once compared to Thine,
How mean their writings look.”
The prayer meetings were continued during the
warm season in that grove, and foreign missions
were always remembered. The result was the for-
mation, within two years, of the first Foreign Mis-
sionary Society in America. This Society was not
for sending others, but for going to the heathen.
* The following was the constitution of this
Society : —
‘ “ The object of this Society shall be to effect in
the person of its members a mission to the heathen.
ZULU AND MATABELE.
185
* “ No person shall be admitted who is under an
engagement of any kind which shall he incompatible
with his going on a mission to the heathen.
‘ “ Each member shall keep absolutely free from
every engagement which, after his prayerful atten-
tion, shall he deemed incompatible with the objects
of the Society, and shall hold himself ready to go on a
mission when and where duty may call."
‘ Emissaries were sent to other colleges. A similar
society was formed at Andover. A proposition in
regard to foreign missions was made to the general
association of Massachusetts, which resulted in the
formation of the American Board of Foreign Mis-
sions.
' Within forty-three years from this time , the Church
of America sent forth among the heathen 358 or-
dained missionaries, 26 medical missionaries, 138
other unordained labourers, with 616 lady helpers.
The native assistants employed would swell the
total to 1738 labourers in the gospel of Christ among
the heathen, as the Lord's answer to Mill's proposition,
and to the prayer under the haystack!
I have extracted this from the Beport of the
Mission Jubilee at William’s College, August 5,
1856. Mills rests near the shores of Africa.
Richards, whose last words were, ‘ Oh, what glories
I see ! ’ entered into glory from his battlefield in
Ceylon, 1822. Hall, another of the first volunteers.
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AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
went home from among the Mahrattas of Western
India. Judson and others soon followed them
abroad ; and Mills, having delighted himself in the
Lord, has now eternity in which to enjoy the fulfil-
ment of the desire of his heart in the spread of the
gospel among the heathen by the foreign missions
of the Church of America, of which he, as the first
who spoke, was the founder.
In the year 1833 the attention of Christians in
America was drawn to the Zulu tribe in South
Africa by Dr. Philip, who, we have already seen,
was honoured by the Lord to bring the Mission
of the Church of France to Basutoland. He was
virtually the father of both missions.
The following narrative of the establishment of
the Mission of the Church of America among the
Zulus of ISTatal is extracted from a paper read by
the Bev. Aldin Grout, one of the pioneers of that
mission, at the annual meeting at Durban, Natal, in
1856. It will be very interesting to all who love
to read of faithful perseverance in spreading the
gospel of Christ, and in seeking the good of man
suffering in the terrible bondage of heathenism.
It is worthy of note that the Spirit of the Lord
drew the hearts of three of His servants in the Northern
States, and three in the Southern States, at the same
time, towards South Africa. A letter from Dr.
Philip to a student of divinity in the United States
ZULU AND MATABELE.
187
suggested this mission, as has been above stated.
Thus everything was arranged by the Lord : —
‘ On the 3d December 1834, six of us, viz.
Lindley, Adams, Venable, Champion, Wilson, and
myself, having been appointed as missionaries of
the American Board in Africa, sailed with our wives
from Boston, and after a prosperous voyage landed
at Cape Town, February 5, 1835. Three of our
number were destined to Umzilikagi, and the other
three, Adams, Champion, and myself, to the Zulus,
under Dingane.
f As soon as the three brethren for the interior
could make preparation, they left Cape Town in ox-
waggons, with a journey of a thousand miles before
them, over such sands, barren wastes, and want of
water, as in this colony we know nothing about.
* Those of us who were destined to Natal found
our way completely hedged up. The Kaffir War of
1835 was then going on, and prevented our travel-
ling overland. After staying a few months at Cape
Town, it was thought we might possibly obtain con-
veyance sooner from Port Elizabeth, and we accord-
ingly removed to that place. Our first opportunity
to Natal was in December 1835, by the Dove.
This we embraced, leaving our wives and effects
behind, till it should be seen what reception Natal
had for us. Arrived at Natal, a few days suf-
ficed to purchase oxen, which we spanned into a
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AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
waggon we had brought by ship, and away we went
to obtain permission of Dingane to teach his people.
The chief gave us reluctant permission, saying
that we must first build a house at Natal for
our home, then he would allow us to spend more
or less time among his people. It was arranged
that Mr. Champion should remain at Natal to do
this, and Dr. Adams and I should endeavour to
return by the Dove, and prepare to move to Natal.
We left the waggon in the Zulu country with Mr.
Champion, and travelled on foot, crossing rivers and
sleeping in the bush, for there were no people living
then between the Tugela and Urngeni. We arrived
just in time, and three days’ sailing brought us to
Port Elizabeth.
‘We commenced our preparation for travelling
through Kaffirland, that thus we might take the
oxen we should require. In the meantime my
own wife was called to be with Christ, leaving me
a little daughter. On our departure for Natal, a
kind mother in Israel took the child, and nursed it
for me.
‘ After some sixty days’ travelling across a country
without roads, we arrived at the Umlagi river, which
Mr. Champion had selected for a station, and where
he had built some huts for our reception. On visit-
ing Dingane again, he gave us permission to com-
mence our labours at Umsunduzi. Mr. Champion
ZULU AND MATABELE.
189
and myself commenced a station there, leaving Dr.
Adams at Umlagi.
‘ Were my friend Lindley standing in my place, I
know he could give you accounts of such trials and
sufferings as have seldom fallen to the lot of Christ’s
missionaries. (This brings us to the history of the
three who went to the interior.)
f As soon as they had arrived, built a house, and
moved into it, the whole company were seized with
that most horrible of all fevers, the essence of ague,
rheumatism, and gout combined. Mrs. Wilson suc-
cumbed to it. Her last words were : “ Tell ipy
mother, and sister, and friends, that I never regretted
coming to Africa.” No one had strength to make a
coffin. Her body was placed in an excavation in
the ground, two boards were set up on edge over
it, across which short pieces were laid, and it was
then covered up and left to rest.
‘ After suffering for months from this fever, and
when one or two were so far recovered as to be able
to walk a little, they were awakened one morning
by the noise of firing all round them. A bullet
struck the wall near Mr. Venable’s head. A com-
pany of Boers had come, and were shooting the
natives as fast as they could, and seizing their
cattle. They said they were determined to destroy
the people, and take their cattle, until Umzilikagi
should be no more. The Boers had been first
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AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
attacked and robbed by tbe Matabele, and were
now come to take vengeance. They advised the
missionaries to go out of the country with them.
‘ Our brethren, believing that nothing more re-
mained for them to do here, spanned in their waggons
and started, Mr. Lindley leading his own for want
of a native to do it. Some of the company, not
having walked a step for months, were placed on
the top of the goods, and away they started, over a
country across which there was no road or track.
There was no slacking or outspanning for twenty-
three hours. When inquiry was made after the
welfare of the sick, the reply was, “We are better.”
Reports during the night were repeated that Umzili-
kagi’s army was surrounding them. Mothers with
children in their arms were floated across the Orange
River on bundles of reeds. Wet through, without
time, strength, or convenience for changing their
clothes, destitute of bread or food suitable for the
sick, — nevertheless, by the mercy of the Lord, the
whole party arrived safely at the nearest mission-
station, and thence passed on to Graham’s Town,
whence, following our route, they arrived in Natal
in June 1836. Mrs. Lindley rode on horseback on
a man’s saddle the whole of that long journey, about
600 miles.
‘ This was the first reinforcement of the Zulu
mission. We put Mr. Lindley at Ipuni, and Messrs.
ZULU AND MATABELE.
191
Wilson and Venable on the Umhlatusi river, in
Dingane’s country.
‘ Hardly had our new brethren got settled, when,
in February 1837, Mr. Venable received an express
to proceed to Dingane’ s capital. He had previously
heard of the arrival of emigrant Boers in the
country, and knew that their deputation was there.
On arrival, he saw the luggage of the Boers at the
gate of the kraal, but all about there was as still as
the house of death. He asked a boy where the Boers
were, and was told that they were gone hunting.
Appearances were, however, very suspicious. He
sent to announce his arrival to Dingane, and asked
permission to see him at once. Dingane told him
that he had killed the Boers, but that the mission-
aries had nothing to fear. Mr. Venable asked to
go and see Mr. Owen, of the Church Missionary
Society, who was living in sight of the capital,
which was granted. Mr. Owen was in the greatest
distress, having been informed of the massacre. He
saw the struggle in the morning. He and Mr.
Venable agreed to get out of the country, knowing
that the war which was commenced between the
Boers and Zulus had not terminated. Dingane
gave his consent to their leaving, but not until he
had asked, or, as he meant, claimed, an important
part of their property. They escaped to their
brethren.
192
AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
‘ Natal was at that time the property of the Boers.
A war between them and the Znlns compelled the
missionaries to leave that country, which was swept
clean by the Zulu army. Mr. Bindley remained to
watch events, hut was obliged to take ship, and, with
Mr. Owen, went to Port Elizabeth in June 1838.
Several of the missionaries returned to America.
Some have gone to their rest, after faithful service.
Dr. Wilson joined the West African Mission, and
laid down his life at Cape Palmas in 1841.
‘ The British Government soon after this assumed
military occupation of Natal, and, the affairs of the
country beginning to betoken peace. Dr. Adams
travelled overland to Natal in March 1839. En-
couraged by his visit, he returned for Mrs. Adams
and Mr. Lindley, who was followed by his wife,
then detained by the sickness of one of their chil-
dren. Dr. Adams went hack to his old station at
Umlagi, and his faith was rewarded by a congrega-
tion of 500 on Sundays, a Sabbath school of 200,
and a large and flourishing day school, within one
year of his return. Mr. Lindley was led of the
Lord to devote himself to the Boers ; and in this he
had the approval of the Mission Board, and earned
the gratitude of the Dutch population. His name
is now a watchword among the children of the Boers
of Natal.
‘Mr. Grout returned from America in 1840, and
ZULU AND MATABELE.
193
opened a station near the place where Wilson and
Venable had laboured. On the 25th July 1842,
Dingane, who had become jealous of his people
listening to the missionary, attacked the station,
massacring all who could not escape. No violence
was done to the missionary, but he thought it best
to go back into Natal, with some of the people who
were attached to him, and who felt that their lives
were not safe near Dingane.
‘ In 1843 the American Board of Missions was led,
by the reports of the unsettled state of the Zulus, to
purpose the abandonment of the mission ; but the
Lord willed it otherwise. Lindley was labouring
among the Boers ; Dr. Adams declined to leave his
post, continuing hopeful, steadfast, and diligent ; Mr.
Grout, on arrival at Cape Town, was dissuaded by
the Christians there from returning to America ; the
Bev. Dr. Faure, Dr. Philip, and other Christians
wrote to the Board, giving their view of the field,
and urging the continuance of the mission. The
Lord had at that time appointed one of His own
servants as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. Sir
Peregrine Maitland was then Governor. His name
will ever be cherished among Christian soldiers,
because he resigned the then very lucrative command
of one of the Presidencies of India, rather than pass
on an order in council that the guards and sentries
of the British army were to ‘ present arms’ — or other-
N
194
AMERICAN MISSIONS TO
wise to render the highest military salute — to idols !
He told Mr. Grout that he had more faith in mission-
aries than in soldiers for preventing wars with the
savage races, and employed him as Government mis-
sionary in Natal, to which place he at once returned,
and founded Umooti. For ten years the gospel was
preached among the Zulus without one convert being
made. But in 1 846 the hearts of the missionaries were
rejoiced by one, and then others, joining the Church.
‘ The mission was reinforced in 1847 by Mr. B. C.
Bryant, who, although suffering from ill health,
laboured faithfully until obliged to cease. He de-
parted to his rest and reward December 23, 1850.
In the year 1847 Mr. Bindley rejoined the mission,
and founded the station of Inanda.’
I have thus gathered from the speech of Mr. Aldin
Grout, and from a book entitled Zululand , by Mr.
Lewis Grout, an outline of the foundation of the
Mission of the Church of America in Zululand. The
following are the names of those who have joined
the mission subsequent to these events : — Lewis
Grout and M'Kinney, 1847; Marsh and Bood, 1848;
Ireland, Abraham, Tyler, and Wilder, 1849; Butler,
1850; Stone and Mellen, 1851; Pixley, 1856;
Bobbins, 1859; Bridgman, 1860; Lloyd, 1862;
Pinkerton, 1871; Kilburn, 1873.
Lewis Grout laboured until 1862, when he was
obliged by ill health to return to America ; Dr Adams,
ZULU AND MATABELE.
195
having fought the good fight, went to the Lord 8tli
September 185 1, — ■ a pioneer missionary, whose faith
and patience never failed/ He founded Amanzim-
tote, now the training institution for the native
teachers. Marsh laboured for five years, and then
went to his reward 11th December 1853, — ‘a
brother greatly beloved.’ Bryant ceased from his
labours December 1850, and rests at Inanda.
This mission was joined in the year 1849 by a
faithful German missionary, Dohne, who has given
his name to a station near King William’s Town,
where he suffered many hardships in the cause of
Christ. Failing health compelled his leaving the
mission in 1860.
The above narrative will show that the Mission
of the Church' of America met with a very different
reception in South Africa from that of the Mission
of the Church of France. There was a vast difference
between the characters of Moshesh and of Mosele-
katsi and Dingane, the Matabele and Zulu chiefs.
He who is excellent in counsel knew this, as well as
the difference between the large and free Church of
America, and the poor, long-persecuted Church of
France. Give Him the glory of choosing for each
the right field.
I feel that the above facts give but a mere out-
line of the labours and sufferings of the pioneers of
the Church of America among the Matabeles and
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AMERICAN MISSIONS.
Zulus ; but as taken from the lips of one of those
pioneers, they will be more interesting than any his-
tory I could compile, even if I had the materials for
such a work. They give a good idea of the character
of the people among whom the American brethren were
sent to preach the gospel of salvation. The Zulus,
under Dingane and Chaka, were a nation of soldiers
always engaged in war, and the difficulty of planting
the Church of Christ among a South African tribe
in that state can only be understood by those who
know something of the Kaffir races.
The pioneer whose narrative has been given,
when looking back over forty years of toil in the
mission-field of South Africa, used the following
language : ‘ If I was a fool in the eyes of some men ,
I have lived to see an hundred-fold more done than I
ever dreamed that I might effect in a long life, and I
have enjoyed an hundred-fold more than I ever ex-
pected. Every promise of God has been abundantly
fulfilled to me! I could wish that this testimony
might be read by every converted theological student,
or any young man seeking to enter the ministry of the
gospel, and that it might lead him to give himself to
the Lord for His work in foreign lands.
‘ Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in all deep
places ! This is the history of all foreign missions.
I love to meditate on these words as I ride over the
plains of Africa.
®msu«bujt, 0cralant, Jfuanba, ^mattjimioit,
|fumr, ffafa, SHmttoalmni, (llimumbe.
197
CHAP TEE XII.
As I stood on the Drakenberg looking towards Natal,
my eyes seemed to pierce through the clouds and
storm — fit emblems of Langabalile’s and Colenso’s
doings — to the peaceful centres of light on the sea
coast, where my American brethren were preaching
Christ. I felt as if I could touch my horse with the
spur, and take a leap of 200 miles to the nearest
American mission - station. Gladly would I have
saved my poor beast the track, but flesh and blood
could not do it. Now, however, mounted on that
which leaps the ditch of death and almost spurns
eternity, borne by that immortal part of my being
which I have of God, and which I will not give up
for the monkey propositions of Darwin, or the infi-
delity of Tyndall, I take one bound from the Draken-
berg to Umsunduzi, on the coast of Natal, and I
stand at the door of brother Tyler’s mission-house.
It was ten minutes past ten o’clock on Saturday
night, 6 th February, when I was gladdened by the
sight of lights in his dwelling. I had ridden from
199
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
Impolwem, the station of my beloved elder brother,
Mr. James Allison, of the Free Church of Scotland
Mission, at daybreak. My guide had taken me fifteen
miles out of my way, and my horses had done some
sixty-five miles. The hearty welcome of my dear
American brother and his kind wife were therefore
all the more pleasing, especially as it brought at
once to my presence and memory the faces of many
loved friends in America, for whom, though we have
been long parted, I do not cease to pray. * The desire
accomplished is sweet to the soul! I praised the Lord
from my heart for this second blessing in my journey.
I had seen my French brethren — now I had come to
my American brethren. My heart was full of joy.
I forgave the guide because he got a fall from his
horse after dark, and also because he lost a good deal
of flesh in the day’s work, not being, as Solomon
quaintly observed as we were entering Natal,
'acquainted with riding.’ I praised the Lord for
renewing and continuing my strength.
February 7. — Lord’s Day. — This day twenty
years ago, I paraded in Winchester barracks to go
to the Crimea. Blessed be the Lord, who spared
me, and led me to Umsunduzi in Natal, to be a
witness for Him to the Zulu Christians and heathen
round my brother Tyler’s station. That day was
Sunday ; and it was with very different feelings that
I tramped on the snow in death-like silence through
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201
Portsmouth, to those with which I stood, the word
of the living God in my hand, among these children
of Africa. My dear brother interpreted for me, and
I did enjoy preaching Christ side by side with an
American brother. In the afternoon, at his request,
I gave the Christians a few details of my visit to
the Basuto mission, and of the work of the Lord
there. We then took a walk together, and in so
doing all the old happiness of Christian communion
in America came back to me, and refreshed me as
in days gone by.
8 th. — I had been longing for a quiet morning’s
talk with my fellow-labourer in the Lord over the
things of His kingdom. I knew that he was, one
like-minded with Mabille and other of the Lord’s
servants in Africa, who are longing to hear the
f advance ’ sounded by the Mission Boards at home,
and to receive reinforcements in men and means for
sending on the gospel. We prayed, and then, with
the map of Africa before us, spoke of our hopes and
desires in the furtherance of the Lord’s work in this
land. I purpose to sum up the result of my in-
quiries and conversations in the last chapter. We
took a walk in the afternoon, visiting some of the
people, and inviting them to a meeting next day.
It would be as well here to put side by side
encouragement and discouragement in missionary
labour. Let the last come first always. My dear
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
brother told me, that after preaching for ten years
among the people, and grieving over their indiffer-
ence, he was led to put before them, very solemnly,
the wrath of God which would burst upon the
impenitent. He noticed a Zulu listening intently,
and hoped the word had had some effect. The
man came up to him after the service, and said,
‘ I’m very glad to hear there’s going to be a storm,
for my garden’s very dry, and wants water !’ It is
one thing to preach in England or America to
people who have some knowledge of what you
mean, another to preach to the darkness of Africa!
But let us not faint ; the Lord reigneth. Our dear
brother was greatly encouraged on another occasion,
by inquiring of a candidate for admission to the
Church how he first became impressed with the
gospel. ‘ Do you not remember, ten years ago ,
calling at a kraal one morning for some milk for
your wife ? I was the boy who went with you to get
it. While I was milking , you told me of Christ, and
urged me to believe in Him and come to school, and
I came. Now I believe .’ Eellow-labourers, let us
be strong in faith, giving glory to God, and believ-
ing that what He has promised — that His word
shall not return to Him void — He is able also to
perform. I ought to notice that the horse-sickness
was very prevalent at this time in Natal. My dear
brother lost a favourite animal while I was at his
CHURCH OF AMERICA.
203
house. The Lord graciously preserved my beasts,
according to my earnest prayer.
9 th. — Another pleasant morning. Copied the
narrative of the mission. One of my brother’s
daughters asking me to fill in a page of a book,
found in many drawing-rooms, in which you are
g,sked your likings, your tastes, your character, etc.,
I thanked the Lord that He had taught me the
proper answer to one query : ‘ What is your princi-
pal characteristic V Answer, according to God’s word
about man : ‘ No good thing * I do not like to
notice the families of my brethren, although they
are not forgotten in my heart. I would, however,
remark that the Lord fulfils His word. They have
for the most part families like a flock, and there are .
none like Job’s daughters. I never saw a more
beautiful photograph than that of brother Tyler and
his family.
In the afternoon, had a meeting with the people.
Abraham, a faithful Zulu evangelist, who labours
among the heathen some twenty miles away, came
to join us. A few young men stayed to an after-
meeting,— some willingly, others at my request.
May our converse prove to have been to each a
savour of life unto life eternal !
Feb. 10. — I felt very sorry to leave this happy
American home ; but we shall, I hope, all meet
again. Brother Tyler drove me to Yerulam. Our
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
road lay through some estates of sugar-cane. Here
I met several of my old acquaintances, the coolies of
India. ‘ Hemara Baie ’ (my brother) was all my
stock of Hindostani left; but this was enough to
draw a smile from the labourers as I passed along.
It had pleased the Lord to visit Yerulam with
blessing since the week of prayer. About ' fifty
white people, and as many natives, had professed
the faith of Christ. This was a cause of very great
joy to me, for I had been longing for signs of
life anywhere in Africa. We went to the mission-
house, and found Mr. and Mrs. Allsopp, and Mr.
Ehodes, Wesleyan missionaries, at home. They
were in much sorrow, on account of the death of
a very promising native minister, who had been
killed by lightning a few days before, while riding
into Palmerton. Mr. Allsopp had brought him up,
and mourned him as a son. At their request, I
preached at 7 p.m. to the English congregation, and
and at 8.30 to the natives. There was a very good
assembly in each chapel. To the former I spoke
on the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘ I am the Life l
endeavouring to set before the converts that all life
is in Jesus alone, — that it begins, continues, and ends
in Him, and that never, under any circumstances,
apart from Him can we have any life in us. To
the natives I spoke of His finished work.
1 1th. — I bade farewell to my brother Tyler,
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205
rejoicing in our fellowship in the Lord. I was
thankful to have met my other brethren. After
two or three hours’ ride, I reached Inanda, another
mission-station of the American Church. The girls’
boarding-school is here ; and as Mrs. Edwards had
joined our Prayer Union, and had requested prayer
for the school, it was like coming to see an old friend.
Mr. and Mrs. Pixley, and Mr. and Mrs. Kilborn,
and Miss Lindley are the Lord’s servants here.
The former were in the mission-house, the latter
in charge of the girls’ school, which Miss Lindley
superintends, as Mrs. Edwards has gone to America.
I was at once at home. In the evening I had the
pleasure of speaking to the girls from the word of
God.
I was much struck on entering Natal with the
very superior way in which the Zulu Christians
build their houses, especially those of the American
missions. There are no such houses built by
natives in the colony — in fact, many of those I saw
would he an ornament in the colonial towns, in
preference to the low iron-roofed sheds in which
most of the white population live. I can only
account for it by the peace which has prevailed in
Natal since its occupation by the English, the
superiority of the Zulu Kaffir when converted, and
the energy of the American missionaries.
A fine house of prayer stands on a height above
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MISSION-HELD OF THE
the mission-house, commanding a lovely view. The
roof of it has been twice blown off. The winds are
very strong here. Miss Lindley told me that on
one occasion she saw a heavy storm coming, and
closed the school, sending the children home. They
had hardly got under cover, when the storm swept
over the place, and brought the whole building
down flat. Thus the Lord preserved them.
12 th. — There was a meeting of the church of
Inanda in the afternoon, and I had the pleasure of
giving my testimony to them concerning the Lord
Jesus from Heb. x., — my brother, Mr. Pixley, inter-
preting. Afterwards, I had some converse with
the native minister, — a man who, I do not hesitate
to say, is in every particular fully equal in intellect,
ability, manner, and all that man needs to fit him
for the duties of life, to any European. I have
made this remark simply because it is due to the
missionaries to testify to these things. Their enemies
charge them with doing nothing. If, as has been
done in many cases, they have taken wild Kaffirs,
taught them God’s word and Christ’s gospel, civil-
ised them, and then educated their children up to
the standard of an educated English gentleman, they
have done something ! A stroll to the house of
prayer with Mr. Pixley and Miss Lindley, and then
we closed the day by an evening reading of the
word.
CHURCH OF AMERICA.
207
Feb. 13. — Mr. Pixley had to go to Durban to
meet his daughter, so we started early, and rode
along the ridge above the Umgeni. Miss Pixley
was waiting at the railway, which runs out three
miles from Durban, and we offsaddled under trees
near. Mr. Rhodes met us ; we joined company,
and, after parting with dear Mr. Pixley and his
daughter, we rode on together to Durban, where I
was welcomed at the house of Mr. Mann, the Con-
gregational minister. The Lord gave me little acts
of service for Him in and near Durban for a few
days, to which I purpose hereafter to refer, hut will
now continue my visit to my American brethren.
On the 24th Pebruary, guided by Mr. Churchill,
a gentleman whose kindness to missionaries is well
known in Natal, I rode from Durban to Amanzimtote,
which is the seminary of the American mission.
We offsaddled at the house of a godly elder of the
Congregational church. Turning off the main road,
we were led into a shorter path to f the sweet
waters,’ which is the meaning of the word Amanzim-
tote. The appearance of the station is striking,
from the good arrangement of the buildings. The
seminary stands on higher ground than the rest.
Mr. and Mrs. Ireland, Mr. and Mrs. Wilder, and
Mr. and Mrs. Robbins welcomed us, Mr. Churchill
being an old friend. Mr. Ireland’s health has
suffered from the climate, and he was just on the
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
eve of starting for America. I had the pleasure of
addressing the students in the evening in their
schoolroom. This is neatly furnished and well
arranged, and there was a good attendance of intelli-
gent and attentive young men. The Lord own my
few words in blessing to their souls ! Miss Day,
who is working in connection with the mission here,
must not he forgotten in this brief notice.
25 th. — There was an early morning service of the
church, at which, by the request of my brethren, I
preached. How blessed it is, in the solemn responsi-
bility of speaking only once in the name of the
Lord to a native church, to feel that one has re-
ceived from Him the very message to be delivered,
and the very exhortation which is most needed. I
could not ask my brethren whether this was so, but
I have enjoyed the sweet assurance daily that the
Lord has given me, according to my prayer, His
word for the churches to which He sent me. T
praise Him for this.
I should have enjoyed a few days here, but I had
now been nearly four months away from my mission
in Fingoland ; and although I knew the Lord would
take care of it better than I could, I felt it my duty
not to tarry by the way.
Mr. Ireland had been privileged to found the
church of Ifumi, a few miles from Amanzimtote,
and, wishing very kindly that I should visit the
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209
scene of his labours, and speak to his people, became
my guide thither. We rode away in the afternoon,
after we had all assembled for prayer, commending
the institution and each other to the grace of the
Lord. I thanked Mr. Churchill for his kindness,
and praised the' Lord for having met my American
brethren and sisters at Amanzimtote. After a very
pleasant ride with my dear brother Mr. Ireland,
we reached Ifumi at sunset, and were most kindly
received by Mr. Thomas and his wife, who have
charge of Mr. Ireland’s house. The garden, all my
brother’s planting, contains some magnificent trees.
In the corner of the garden nearest the church there
rests the precious body of one who was his com-
panion and helper in the early days of his mission
life among the Zulus. Such sacred spots are not
uncommon in the mission gardens of Africa, and
they form a strong tie to thoughtful and loving
hearts with the unseen part of God’s creation.
2 Qth. — The church assembled early in the very
neat little chapel which my dear brother had built.
He gave them some parting words after I had urged
them to look alone to the Lord Jesus, and for His
name’s sake to keep and abide by His teaching in the
word of God.
We were obliged to bid each other farewell after
breakfast,- as I purposed to go on to Umtwalumi,
which is a good day’s ride from Ifumi. This, how-
o
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
ever, was not the Lord’s will. I crossed the Um-
komass river in a boat with my horses, and rode on
to Umginto. Here I had been commended to Mr.
Archibald, whom I found to be a nephew of my
dear friend Mr. Dyke. He asked me to remain the
night at his house. This I felt it right to do, for
in Africa men should not pass their friend’s friends,
if by resting with them a few hours they can afford
them any pleasure, or hope to impart to them any
blessing. Both of these things should be the Chris-
tian’s endeavour. I went to his house, and found
there a very sick relation, whom I tried to cheer, as
he was depressed by his illness. Passed a pleasant
evening with Mr. Archibald and his wife.
2 *7th. — Up very early, and on to the house of
Mr. Aitken, a member of the Colonial Parliament,
who had asked me to visit his aged father, a faithful
old Christian, and one who has laboured many years
in the gospel. I reached his house about breakfast.
He pressed me to stay for the morrow, the Lord’s
day. He said that there were many European
planters round who would be glad to come and hear
the word. There was also a native church of the
American Mission at Ifafa, two miles off, which I
might visit in the morning. These, and the pleasure
I might give to his dear old father, decided me to
remain, and I enjoyed the rest and conversation
with my elder brother very much. I found him to
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211
be one to whom the Bible is, as it ought to be, the
voice of the living God. Devoting his life in this
land to its study, and putting his searchings into it
on paper, he has written two large volumes of its
precious truths. I could wish that those books
were published, if young Christians would read them
as studies of the word of God. There are plenty of
religious books and beautiful writings on the truths
of Scripture, but there is much need of a book
based on God’s word, knowing no other authority,
in which His eternal truths and decrees are set forth,
and proved by reference to His own word. Such a
book would be valuable to all who love the word of
the Lord.
Feb. 28. — Lord's Day. — Walked to the station of
Ifafa. My elder brother started with me, and,
thinking that he knew a short cut, took me off the
main road. But after toiling up a steep hill through
grass above our heads, we found nothing but a dense
bush before us. We therefore returned to the main
road, and as I had to run on to be in time for the
service, I prevailed on him to go back to the house.
It was a very hot day, and I did not feel well, but
I praised the Lord for the lesson. May no aged
Christian, however experienced, lead me off Him,
the Way, or off the plain open road of His word.
I enjoyed preaching to the church at Ifafa, and in
seeing in that happy gathering of Zulu Christians
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
the Lord’s evident blessing on the labours of my
dear American brethren in this place. My visit
cheered the native minister and the whole church,
according to my desire and expectation. Walked
back to the house full of praise, very thankful to
see my three tired beasts in a roomy paddock, enjoy-
ing their Sabbath.
In the afternoon a goodly number of Mr. Aitken’s
neighbours came to his house. The sitting-room
was too small, so we went into the garden, and
gathered under the verandah and trees. The
Lord gave me as His message the history of the
conversion of Cornelius. ‘ Words whereby thou and
all thy house shall be saved ’ (Acts xi. 14). God
uses words spoken by men testifying concerning the
Lord Jesus as His means of salvation through the
finished work of the Lord . The angel who spoke to
Cornelius could have told him what Peter did;
but God did not permit that. As soon as Peter
spoke, Cornelius believed, and the Holy Ghost fell
on him and on all who heard the word. Cornelius
believed that through Him of whom Peter spoke , even
Jesus of Nazareth, whom they slew, whom God raised
up, according to the witness of the prophets, he hady
then and for every forgiveness of sins. The Holy
Ghost sealed this truth to Cornelius by His presence
and power coming on him and his house. I feel
sure that I shall find in the glory of the Lord that
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213
He blessed His word to-day. I afterwards walked
with a Swedish brother, a missionary, who had been
led into what I cannot but regard as the very great
mistake of taking a farm to work himself. He was
in much trouble, and had suffered very great trials
on this account. I sympathized with him most
sincerely ; but I could not help feeling, that in induc-
ing him to put himself in this position, Satan had
transformed himself into an angel of light, and had
thus led him off the plain path of the word of God.
March 1. — Having enjoyed very much the society
of my aged brother and his family, and these two
unexpected opportunities of testimony, I started
early for Umtwalumi, another station of the Ameri-
can Mission. I had long wished to see my brother
Pinkerton, because he had offered last year to go on
in the name of the Lord to * the regions beyond,’
and I thus felt for him great love. We soon under-
stood each other, and I greatly enjoyed the few
hours of communion we had together. I visited
the school with him, and in the evening we preached
to his church together. We are about the same
age ; and I could not help wishing that all the
members of the Young Men’s Christian Associations
of Canada and the United States could have seen
England and America, in the person of their two
children, standing side by side and preaching to
that Zulu congregation, ( not ourselves , but Christ
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
Jesus the Lord .’ This was the word the Lord gave
me. Dear Pinkerton interpreted. I feel sure that
that sight would have caused many a young Christian,
who is only lame through unbelief, to spring up in
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and start off
to proclaim that name where it has not been heard.
I have always looked upon the annual convention
of those Associations at Montreal in 1867 as a
period in my life when I received very great
spiritual blessing. My love for the Christians of
Canada and the United States is a living fire within
me, which the waters of the Atlantic cannot quench.
The church assembled an hour before sunset, and
my brother and I preached till dark. We were
both filled with the Spirit of Him whom we preached,
and never shall I forget the delight of that service.
March 2. — It will indeed be joyful when we meet
to part no more. Meanwhile we must be about our
Master’s business ; and if He has need of us in the
crowded cities of Asia, on the plains or in the
deserts of Africa, in the deep places of America or
Europe, or in the islands of the sea, we must look
to it that we are not slothful, but followers of them
who through faith and patience have inherited the
promises. My saddle, in which I had expected so
much pain, had become to me the most ‘ easy chair ’
in which I had ever sat. So I often thought as I
tracked away, mile after mile, on His Majesty’s
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service. Bidding my dear brother’s wife every
blessing from the Lord, according to His promises
and her faith, I rode away with him. He guided
me a good part of the way to Umzumbe, the last of
the American mission-stations in Natal, not far
from the Umzimkulu river. Leaving our horses
with Solomon, we went away apart together, knelt
on the felt, and entreated our blessed Lord to keep
us abiding in Him, and to speed on the preaching
of His name and salvation throughout this dark
land. We had to part, but it was none the less
hard. Oh that, when we meet before the Lord, our
work done, we shall receive His testimony that we
have been faithful !
Mr. Bridgman and his dear wife are the mis-
sionaries at Umzumbe . Miss Pinkerton and Miss
Welsh have charge of the girls’ boarding-school,
which has been recently opened. I found my
brother suffering from a painful and weakening
complaint, to which he has been subject for some
years. Might not this point to service for the Lord
in America ? f I will have mercy , and not sacrifice ,’
are His words. The field is the world. He knows
no difference between America and Africa, although
His servants make a very great difference, according
to the weakness of their faith and their ignorance
of His will and ways. I was thankful that the
Lord gave my brother strength enough to enable
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MISSION-FIELD OF THE
me to enjoy his society during this short visit. I
also thank Him that He permits me to enjoy most
thoroughly every moment I pass with His children,
and not to waste any time in talking about parting.
An old Christian general taught me something use-
ful by impressing on my mind one of his favourite
maxims : ‘ It is no use saying what might be ; you
must take things as they are *
The church assembled in the afternoon, and
several heathen came with them, to whom I
preached ‘ Jesus, the Life.’ This was my last
testimony to the churches of the American Mission,
and I felt that I' could speak on no other subject,
on no other words. How weak, how foolish, how
helpless a thing is preaching ! But He whom we
preach is the Life ; and where shall end the effect of
one word which He may bless to the soul of a man ?
Be this the strength and comfort of every witness
for the Lord. He concerning whom we speak is
the Life ; and He will yet, as He has in the past,
use the testimony of His servants concerning Him
to the salvation of souls. I spoke to several of the
heathen outside at the close of the service. They
had heard the word of salvation for years, yet
‘ let him that heareth say “ Come ! ” * once more.
Although I have not noticed it, it has been my
practice to salute the Christian men and women at
the close of the services throughout my journey,
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and, as far as my limited powers allowed me, to
assure them of my love for them in the fellowship
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the least that
should be done by any whom the Lord honours to
be His messengers to the churches. Less than this
might make the native brethren think that their
visitor brother was, as it were, a lord over them,
instead of an example of love among the flock.
The want of this would considerably lessen the
effect of his preaching. The evening was passed
at the school, wThere the children sang hymns to
their heart’s content, and to my very great pleasure.
They appeared extremely bright and happy. Con-
trasting their position in this Christian home with
what it would be in a heathen kraal, one could not
but bless and praise the Lord, who had put it into
the heart of American Christians to establish this
mission, and this and other schools among the
Zulus.
Thus closed my visit to the mission-stations of the
Church of America in South Africa. I could have
wished for as much time with the Lord’s servants
here as I had with their French brethren in Basuto-
land, but this could not be. Although I was not
aware of it, there were then two brethren and their
wives on their way from England to labour with me
in Africa. , The Lord knew it, and He laid it on my
mind to journey on, that I might be able to meet *
218
MISSION-FIELD OF THE
them the sooner. Short as was my visit, it was a
testimony of love which I could have given in no
other way. I had been to the stations of Esidum-
bini, Umsunduzi, Inanda, Amanzimtote, Ifumi, Ifafa,
Umtwalumi, and Umzumbe. I was sorry not to
have seen the stations of Umooti and Mapumulo.
These lie north of Umsunduzi, and would have taken
my horses another hundred miles. I prayed for
guidance, and was led to strike straight across the
Noedsberg Mountains from Impolweni to Umsunduzi,
instead of going round by Hermansberg to Mapumulo.
It did not, therefore, surprise me to learn that, had I
gone to Umooti, Mr. Rood, the missionary, would not
have been there, as he had left for Basutoland. At
Mapumulo I should have seen Mr. Buchanan, with
whom I have enjoyed some delightful correspondence ;
but as he is not one of the ministers of the Church
of America, he did not come within the limit of my
prayer for guidance in visiting the American mis-
sionaries. It is delightful to observe the exact
answers of the Lord to the believing prayers of His
people.
I have omitted the mention of Mr. Stone, whom I
met in Durban. He is engaged in the publication
of the Scriptures in the Zulu language. I also met
Mr. Mellen for a few moments at Verulam. He was
about to go to America with Mr. Ireland.
The Lord has greatly blessed the efforts of the
CHURCH OF AMERICA.
219
Church of America among the Zulu tribe of Kaffirs.
In a country like Natal, where the natives are inter-
mixed with a white population, the hindrances to
evangelization are very great, and the effects of Chris-
tian civilisation do not appear so much to advantage
as among populations more in the interior. God’s
ways are not our ways : He has by the Church of
America, and other Churches, planted His word in
that part of Africa. He has formed a native Church,
from which it may be confidently hoped native
missionaries will go forth into Central Africa as the
way is opened up. I propose to leave the great
subject of the evangelization of this vast continent
for the closing chapter. Statistics are nothing ; they
are only the world’s calculations on the work of God.
They do not give the slightest idea of what has been
done, or of the mighty moral power which the gospel
of Christ carries with it wherever it is preached.
There are evidences of a far more reliable nature,
which those who care honestly to inquire into the
results of mission work among the heathen of Africa
cannot fail to see. I had just crossed the table-land
on the Noedsberg Mountains, on my way to Umsun-
duzi, when I passed a settlement of Zulu Christians.
Some eight or ten well-built houses, very neatly
thatched, and well arranged, formed a striking
contrast to the huts of the heathen which lay
beneath them in the valley. God’s word and family
220 MISSION-FIELD OF THE CHURCH OF AMERICA.
prayer, united worship, Christian love, and domestic
decency, where, hut for the Church of America, there
would have been the darkest heathenism, with its
degrading obscenities, — these are blessings which it
is blessed to give ; and who can value the privilege of
being able to help in such a work ?
ftafal, (Smmaus, |1«ter-|^ari^Iji;rg. — Cbt
fTangabalile Affair. — £| urban. — |lriiisf}
|)olinr in |tatal, tic.
221
CHAP TEE XIII.
I left Solomon making coffee on the banks of the
Tugela. Having given the reader some slight sketch
of the pleasure then before me in visiting the mis-
sionaries of the Church of America, I must return
to my faithful Gaika. A poor Zulu with two boys,
who were travelling the same road, came up just as
we were enjoying our coffee ; and although he was
about the most stupid Kaffir I ever met, I trust he
understood me when I gave him and his hoys a
good share of our bread and coffee, and told him it
was for the love of God who made us, and of His
Son the Great Saviour, who loves all, English and
Zulu, alike. We then rode on. How transient are
earthly pleasures ! Solomon had just expressed his
satisfaction at learning that while on the march we
could thus make coffee, which he likes very much,
when, in the middle of the very next stream, he
disappeared, horse and all ! How well the Lord
led us ! Had the water been a few inches higher,
we could not have crossed these strong mountain
223
224
FROM NATAL
torrents. His horse struck a stone and went over.
He was up again in a moment, laughing heartily.
He lost his hat, which I replaced by a new one from
my saddle-bags. Warned by his ducking, I entered
the stream higher, and my horse swam across. An
hour’s ride brought us to the house of Captain
Allison, the magistrate of the district. I saw him
on the other side of the river which flows past his
house, but he could not cross it. Mrs. Allison was
absent, nursing a sick neighbour. Their children
gave me a kind welcome, and in return, I en-
deavoured to tell them of Him whose presence in
the heart makes a heavenly home on earth.
Jan. 20. — Captain Allison crossed the river after
breakfast, and I was able to spend some hours
with him and his children before riding on to
Emmaus , a German mission-station. He kindly
mounted me, and gave me a guide. We first called
at a station nearer his house, where I learnt that
there was a marriage this day in the house of the
missionary at Emmaus. I would not have intruded
into any house on such an occasion, but I could not
avoid it ; and, travelling in the name of the Lord, I
knew I should be welcome. Have you ever been
the uninvited guest of a marriage-supper ? Have
you ever, uninvited, found' yourself seated next to
the bride at a wedding -feast ? Such was the
pleasure and honour granted me this evening by
TO CLAKKBURY.
225
the Lord and by His servants. And I thoroughly
enjoyed it, because I looked upon it as an answer
to prayer. I had been praying much of late for the
German missionaries, and here, in one place, the Lord
brought me into the midst of a large party of them
at a season of especial happiness ! I did enjoy it.
Surely it is no wrong to disclose to Christians the
privacy of that happy evening. I was surrounded
by brethren and sisters talking of the coming and
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, while the bride
and bridegroom sat at the piano singing hymns
together, in the choruses of which we all joined.
The father and mother of the bride, the bride and
bridegroom, and all the guests made me heartily
welcome ; and as I wondered at finding myself quite
at home in such an unexpected scene of joy, I
thought. Thus will it be with me when all my
wanderings are over, and I sit down amid the saints
in the kingdom of the Lord.
Jan. 21. — A happy morning with the bridal
party. We gave part of it to the study of the
word and prayer. It was hard to resist the press-
ing invitation to remain for a day or two. But the
Christian must not be tempted by the pleasures of
Christian communion from the cross and service of
the Master. Heaven is the appointed place for
that. Earth is the sphere for obedience to His
command, ‘ Go ye into all the world — preach- —
p
226
FROM NATAL
teaching.’ Those will most enjoy the communion
hereafter who have done the hardest work or suffered
most for the Master here.
I rode away after the mid-day meal, having given
my best and holiest wishes to the bride and bride-
groom, and to all that happy home. A heavy Natal
thunderstorm, with lightning and thunder, soon
confronted us. As it came on, we offsaddled, and,
as was my wont, prayed for help and blessing in
our journey. We saddled up, rode through a heavy
shower into sunshine, until night came. It then
began to rain. About an hour after dark we rode
up to a house. I thought it might be the mission-
station which lies on that road, but it was not. The
brightness inside the glass door formed a striking
contrast to the cheerless night outside. Hospitality
was wanting, and I was therefore thankful to arrive
at an hotel at Estcourt, on Bushman’s Biver, at
10 P.M., where I found shelter and food for Solomon
and my horses.
Jan. 22. — Visited Mr. Smith, missionary of the
Church of England here. Learnt from him that
a Basuto chief and his people living in Natal had
asked for Christian teachers and a school. Before
going on farther, I met the old gentleman at whose
house I called last night. He came to the hotel.
Thinking he might never meet another man who
would tell him of the Lord Jesus the Saviour, and
TO CLARKBURY.
227
desiring his salvation, I lifted np my heart to the
Lord, and spoke of His love and grace. I told
him that many years ago, when I was lost and
perishing, I found Christ. A middle-aged Natal
'gentleman/ stout and burly, at once took up my
last words.
' And when you found Christ, I suppose you
found something very filthy V
' Yes/ I replied, ' I did. It was my own heart,
which, like the heart of every man, is desperately
wicked. But in the Lord Jesus Christ I found all
beauty and salvation/
This made him very angry ; so, having simply
repeated that salvation is in the Son of God, and by
Him alone, I wished the company good morning,
and got on my horse.
I was followed outside by the speaker above
referred to, who insulted me, but having been some-
what staggered by the answer he received, he con-
cluded with this piece of advice, which he meant to
be friendly : 'You had better not talk in this colony
as you have to us, or you will get your head
broken !’
I went my way, knowing well that there are
plenty of men wicked enough to break a brother’s
head for telling them of a Saviour from death and
of a home in heaven. On the road I met several
groups of natives going or coming from the diamond
228
FROM NATAL
fields ; and the thanks I received from a small hand
of Christians for talking to them of the Lord Jesus
made me praise God. About an hour after dark,
came to an hotel half-way between Estcourt and
Pieter-Maritzberg, and there halted.
On Saturday, January 23, reached the capital of
Natal. I offsaddled, and breakfasted at Ho wick,
or Umgeni as it should he called, because the
beautiful falls of the Umgeni are close to the hotel.
How grand they are ! How mighty the power of
the Lord ! Having seen Niagara, these waters
appeared small; but there is a good volume of
river, and the fall is very great. The drift being
not far up, waggons and oxen, horses and men, have
been swept over the falls !
I had admired the scenery of Natal very much.
It is richer and more picturesque than Kaffirland,
the Transkei, or Basutoland. The view of the
capital from the hills around is very pretty. Old
Charlie trotted in over the bridge as if he had not
come a yard. The day was hot. The house of the
Presbyterian minister, Mr. Smith, was to have been
my home, but his wife needed his nursing. I was
therefore glad to find quarters in the house of Mr.
and Mrs. Godfrey, whose kindness to the soldiers
who had been under my command in Singapore was
very great. They had opened their house to them
during the three years that my old comrades had
TO CLARKBURY.
229
been quartered in the city, and I had frequently
heard of their kindness. The Lord had blessed
them for it, and among those who had just marched
away some acknowledged themselves to be their
children in the faith. I heard that afternoon in the
town that my old regiment had that day embarked
at Durban. They were going to England, and I was
remaining in Africa, a volunteer for what the world
calls 'the forlorn hope’ of Jesus Christ! Wait a
bit. The campaign is not yet over. When it is, as
God says, men ‘ shall know whose words shall stand ,
mine, or theirs ’ (Jer. xliv. 28).
The next day was the Lord’s day, and I preached
both to my own countrymen and to the natives.
There is no need to record how I passed the ten
days I remained here. I visited Edendale, a native
village founded by Mr. James Allison, who now,
while I am writing, is rejoicing in the joy of his
Lord. It was my happiness to meet this faithful
missionary after leaving Maritzberg, and it is no
small joy to me to know that my visit brightened
the last days of his earthly labours. I spoke in the
Congregational, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan churches,
and especially enjoyed addressing a large number of
children in the Wesleyan church. The aged founder
of that Sunday school praised the Lord with tears.
He told me that he had never seen so many children
assembled together in that city, and he saw in that
230
FROM NATAL
gathering an answer to many prayers. ‘ They know
not the voice of strangers' was the word given me to
these lambs in a city full of wolves ; and I felt that
the Good Shepherd spoke by me, as I was only
speaking of Him. This subject was given me by a
little girl who was not old enough to talk, but who,
when I entered her father’s house the day before,
passed by me, although I spoke lovingly to her, and
ran into her father’s arms.
Pieter-Maritzberg is the city of Colenso. Can I
leave it without noticing him ? Gladly would I do
so, but the word of God commands His servants in
these days to contend for the faith once for all
delivered unto the saints. He was away when I
entered it, but he came back before I left. His
friends purposed a triumphant entry. A carriage
and four was sent out to meet him, but the Lord
sent back the horses and the pole. As they were
going, the horses ran away, and the carriage was
smashed to pieces. He mercifully spared the men,
and Colenso came back to his city in the ‘’bus’!
There are certain things the Lord will not allow.
Next day he preached, comparing himself to the
holy Son of God, whom he denies ; and the fickle
burghers of Maritzberg, who had stigmatized him as
a traitor on account of the Langabalile business, and
had declared they would not have him for a
preacher, crowded to hear him ! In regard to his
TO CLARKBURY.
231
work and his labours as a missionary, which Dean
Stanley eulogizes, they have been confined to doing
incalculable injury both among his own countrymen
and the natives. His pernicious writings have
driven light, hope, and happiness from many a
home in Africa. One pamphlet on polygamy sent
twenty-three men who had embraced the doctrines
of the Lord Jesus, in one mission alone, back to all
the filthiness of heathenism. Only the day will
reveal the extent of the evil this man has done to
souls in South Africa and elsewhere. There is no
man I pity more than I do him. His teaching is
losing power, thank God ; and when he is gone,
except the souls he has injured, there will be no
trace of his ‘ missionary labours ’ !
As for the Langabalile business, it was a mistake,
from first to last. It is a mistake for merchants to
traffic in guns. Whatever may be said about armies
being a necessity, the trade in guns made for killing
men is iniquitous. If those merchants’ children are
murdered by the guns their fathers sold, it will be
a righteous judgment. It is a mistake, when this
trade is either open or tacitly allowed, to register
guns. Let the Colonial Secretary give every native
credit for one gun; and if he knows the number of
the male adult population, he has the number of
arms in the tribe without further trouble. It was
a mistake to send armed men against rebels, and tell
232
FROM NATAL
them not to use their arms. It was a mistake to
praise the treachery by which Langabalile was taken.
It was a mistake to try Langabalile in that way.
Had he been tried by English law, the nation would
have been satisfied. According to Kaffir law, he
should not have been tried at all. The Kaffir law
is, that a rebel suffers death by the first man who
meets him. But should this not be done, if a chief
meets a chief, he is pardoned. His meeting with the
Government, his chief in Kaffir eyes, was his pardon
by Kaffir law. It was a mistake for Colenso to
represent the conduct of his fellow-countrymen as
severe towards those rebels. It must be a matter
of wonder to every soldier, wh6 understands how
easily men are excited in such circumstances as
those in which the Natal colonists were placed, that
there was so little bloodshed. It was a mistake
for the ministers to give the Government a character.
The ministers of the Church of Christ have nothing
to do with earthly government, except to preach
loyalty and' obedience. Had they, instead of that
address, written as a body to the Churches in Great
Britain, explaining the real state of affairs in Natal,
Colenso would not have been looked upon as an
inspired apostle when he arrived in England, and
the ministers would have saved their fellow-
countrymen from much undeserved blame. It was
a mistake for the English nation to believe an infidel
TO CLARKBURY.
233
bishop against the people of Natal. On all occasions
of rebellion and riot in our colonies, cruelty and
oppression on the side of the Government are usually
the work of the Government natives. People un-
acquainted with this class have no idea how, when
opportunity offers, they use their position as servants
of Government to oppress their own countrymen. This
is, however, the case. Many innocent natives were
maltreated by the Government natives during the
Langabalile affair. Their kraals were entered, their
property taken, and some were thrown into prison
at Pieter-Maritzberg for no offence, and not released
until they had paid bribes to the Government natives.
Every officer who has served the Government as
long as I have, and who has taken the trouble to
look into these things, will know that what I have
written is the truth. However careful a governor
may be, and I believe that no man could have
been more so than Sir Benjamin Pine, excesses on
the part of native subordinates on such occasions
cannot be avoided. Langabalile was a rebel, and a
determined rebel. Trading in guns is sin, and the
registering of guns is folly. This cannot, however,
justify his opposition to the law. The mercy of
God preserved the land from much bloodshed, and,
as it always must be, "the wrath of man’ praises
Him.
Prom the Christians in Pieter-Maritzberg I re-
234
FROM NATAL
ceived a kind welcome. The Christians of South
Africa are not yet acquainted with ‘ evangelists/ as
unordained preachers of the gospel are in these days
usually called. There is consequently some difficulty
in being received by them. Where, however,
Christians are sufficiently taught to know that
the Lord still gives gifts in His Church, and that
the Holy Ghost, not man, calls to the preaching
of the gospel, there is much love and a warm
welcome.
Having enjoyed the privilege of giving a few
days’ testimony to the Lord Jesus in the citadel of
Colenso, and especially the happy communion in
the ‘ Soldier’s Home/ — dear Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey’s
house, — I rode away, on 2d February, to Impolweni,
a mission-station of the Free Church of Scotland,
which was then in charge of the Rev. James Allison,
the founder of Edendale. This faithful servant of
the Lord gave me a father’s and a brother’s welcome
to his home. He was waiting for me with his
people ; and nowhere in Africa have I felt the power
of Christian welcome more than in my visit to this
aged servant of God. I did feel honoured in the
warmth of his joy at my visit that the Lord should
have allowed me to minister any pleasure to His so
honoured servant. He told me that he and his
church had joined in the Prayer Union I had pro-
posed on my return to Africa, and that it had been
TO CLARKBURY.
235
an occasion of conversion and revival. Next morn-
ing I addressed the church under the trees outside
the house. Among them was the cup-hearer of the
once terrible Zulu chief, Chaka. He was introduced
to me. I had been speaking of the unchangeable
word of God by Christ, and remarked to the old
man that though Chaka’s word was once mighty in
his tribe, it was not like the word of the Lord Jesus.
‘ No/ he said ; ‘ Chaka is dust.’ The rest of the
day I sat a willing listener, while, at my request, the
veteran soldier of Christ briefly told me the story
of his life labours. It was a lovely day ; and what
greater pleasure could I have than to sit under the
shade of a tree and listen to such a tale of the
grace and power of the Lord Jesus ? James Allison
has since this gone to the reward of eternal glory.
It will therefore not hurt him, while it will edify
and stir up the Church of Christ, to give a sketch
of his life. The son of an officer who had fought
in the Peninsula and then emigrated to the Cape,
he was converted in man’s estate, and at once offered
himself to the Wesleyan Society as a missionary.
Brought up in the colony, and inheriting his father’s
courage, his birth and education were used of the
Lord for the furtherance of His kingdom. He
sought independent work in fields where the name
of Christ had never been heard. His first service
was in 1832 to the Griquas, at Bouchapp, near Hart
236
FROM NATAL
River. In 1834 lie went alone with his wife to
the Mantetes, a fierce marauding tribe near the
Drakenberg Mountains, on the north side of the
Caledon river. After three years’ labour in this
tribe, a marvellous work of God commenced. Two
slaves who had escaped from the Boers, named
Abraham and Martha, were first converted, and then,
when the nature of conversion was seen and under-
stood, in a few days one hundred and eighty heathen
men and women professed to believe in Christ.
Persecution now commenced, and in 1841 he moved
to the Barolong tribe, at Thabanchu. Two years
later he went to Lishuani, and in 1844 he visited
the Amaswasi tribe with the Rev. Mr. Giddy, with
the view of forming a mission in that tribe. Leav-
ing two native preachers with them, he returned for
Mrs. Allison, Abraham , and nine Mantett converts ,
with whom he went back to the Amaswasi. The result
of the labours of these native preachers with his own was
so great , that in less than two years , when war broke
out in the Amaswasi tribe, thirty Christians and four
hundred inguirers went with Mr. Allison into Natal.
The Government gave him ground for a station at
Indaleni, where he founded his first Christian village.
In 1851 he felt obliged by the circumstances of
the mission to leave the Wesleyan Missionary
Society. He went forth trusting in the Lord, who
did not forsake him. Those whom he had led to
TO CLAEKBURY.
237
the faith of Christ from among the Mantels and
Amaswasi would not part from him. He found
himself obliged to make a Christian settlement. The
native Christians urged him to obtain land for them
from Government. This he did, and the village of
Edendale was formed. This village, as I saw it, is
a wonderful testimony to the labours of this faithful
servant of the Lord. The ground was bought and
paid for, and he showed me the document on which,
with so much faith and patience, he had kept the
record of the small irregular payments of his native
brethren, until the sum of £1800 was raised. How
the Lord guided and blessed him in this undertaking ;
how He provided for and helped him when in 1 8 6 1
he moved into Pieter-Maritzberg, and commenced a
mission among the neglected native population of
that town; how in eighteen months he formed a
congregation ; in what way one, and then another
house of prayer was built; how, after his joining
the Free Church of Scotland in 1867, he was led
to open a new mission at Impolweni, which he
subsequently hoped would be the Gordon Mission
Centre ; — all these events showed the mighty hand
of the Lord in whom he had trusted, and gave me
occasion again and again, while I listened, to bless
and praise His holy name. What a record of
service ! How honourable ! A life given to the
Lord and to the rescue of ignorant heathen from the
238
FROM NATAL
bondage of darkness ! He had passed through many
dangers and privations, but, like most of the Lord’s
faithful servants, his greatest trials had come from
the unkindness of his brethren. All his trials are
over now ! Blessed be the Lord, who bore His
servant through so much, and gave him strength and
energy to the last. Next day, Feb. 4, he was up
before the sun, rode into Pieter-Maritzberg, did a
good deal of business, and returned by sunset, mak-
ing a ride of thirty-six miles without any apparent
fatigue. This at the age of seventy-three. He was
up at an early prayer meeting next morning, took
me for a ride over the farm after breakfast, and
during the remainder of the day, at my request, con-
tinued the story of his eventful life. In the even-
ing I gave his church a parting address, urging
them to abide in the Lord Jesus as their life and
strength. The dear old man was up again very
early on the 6 th Feb., when I bade him farewell,
to see his face again in the glory of God. I will
not here close my notice of him, but I will add, as
one of the Lord’s seals to my visit to this field, what
he wrote in a letter to me, dated Feb. 27 : — ‘ My
dear brother, your visit to Impolweni has indeed
proved a blessing from the Lord to all in my house,
and to my dear people. Since I have been a mis-
sionary, no visit which I have been favoured with
has left such an abiding impression of Christian love
TO CLARKBURY.
239
on my mind as yours. It is one which will last,
I fully believe, until my dying day.’ We read the
word and prayed together frequently. He was
called to the Lord on March 21st, six weeks after
my visit !
1 have already taken the reader to the mission-
station of Umsunduzi, to visit Mr. Tyler of the
American Mission, and on by Yerulam and Inanda to
Durban ; so we will trot down the main road to that
city, which I reached, as before mentioned, on the
13 th February. The house of the Congregational
minister was my home, and I enjoyed speaking to
his church, morning and evening, on the following
day. Durban is the port of Natal and of Pieter-
Maritzberg. It has increased in importance since
the days that Allan Gardiner established a mission
on the hill which rises behind the bay, and which
he named Berea. Here he preached Christ to the
Zulu, and planted a flower to spring up hereafter in
resurrection glory, — -a little daughter whose body
sleeps on this hill. I received a warm welcome
from a few of the Lord’s servants at Durban, and
found among them, as at the capital, one or two
whose delight is prayer. This greatly cheered me.
Herein is the guarantee of certain blessing. Two
aged brethren at Pieter-Maritzberg give the hour
from 5 to 6 A.M. daily to prayer, thereby shaming
many younger ones, who give it to sleep. The sol-
240
FROM NATAL
diers of my old regiment had found friends here, as
at the other stations. Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood
were away, but I had the pleasure of seeing and
thanking Mrs. Archibald, whose little house must
have expanded with her large heart to receive the
number of my old comrades who sometimes spent
the evening in her society. Blessed are the mothers'
who care for soldiers !
I spent ten days between Durban and Pinetown,
where I visited an aged Scotch minister and his
family, and other friends. Two calls on the road
at Mr. and Mrs. Brook’s house refreshed me by con-
verse on the glorious hope of the blessed coming of
the Lord. This is a subject rarely spoken of by
Christians in South Africa, and as I feel called
upon to draw their hearts to the person of the Lord
Jesus, and His living power in them by the Holy
Ghost, rather than to introduce a subject which
would only spend the few moments of our inter-
course in controversy, I am especially refreshed
when I meet those who are looking for His glo-
rious coming, and are happy in speaking about it.
I preached in Durban in the Congregational, Pres-
byterian, and Wesleyan churches. In so doing the
Lord gave me the desired opportunity of cheering a
fellow man, in whose trial I sincerely sympathised,
but to whom I could not express my sympathy
without intrusion. The Governor, Sir Benjamin
TO CLARK BURY.
241
Pine, liad just heard of his recall ; and being able to
judge as well as any man in Africa, and better than
any in England, the merits of the Langabalile affair,
I felt for him as a wronged man. He attended the
service in the Presbyterian Church when I preached
there. I went after the service to visit a dear
young friend, and happened to meet him. I was
satisfied by the brightness of his face that, for the
time at least, the eternal truths he had been hearing
had drawn his mind from the trials of this passing
scene. Eor ministering any comfort to him I thanked
the Lord. I thank Him more so now, as I have
heard of an act of justice which he performed, in
opposition to the wishes of the Government officials,
when he first wrent to Africa, by which he doubtless
kept peace between the Pondos and the Natal
Colony, and saved the good name of England from a
shameful blot.
I have already given notes of my journey from
Durban to Umzumbe, the American mission-station
close to the Umzimkulu river, the southmost border
of Natal. Thence I started early on the 3d March
for the upper drift of the Umzimkulu. The scenery
of the Umzumbe valley was grand, but the road was
heavy. After a hard day’s ride, I arrived at dark at
the house of Mr. Walker, an Irish gentleman, who
has certainly shown white men and black what a
man can do, by God’s blessing, with knowledge and
Q
242
FROM NATAL
energy. It is very pleasant to feel welcome in such
a house. At a mission-station a travelling preacher
expects a welcome, but not when arriving late and
uninvited at other houses. The evening was passed
in a drawing-room which would have been a good
room in any country house in England. Conversing
with Mrs. Walker and her daughter in this room
reminded me of happy days and scenes gone by,
and contrasted strangely with my present life. But
while my body enjoyed the softness of the cushions,
and my spirit the pleasure of their converse on the
things of God, I felt no desire to give up the toil
and the cross in Africa, for the best hall or manor-
house and the most charming society in England.
Mr. Walker takes a practical interest in the ele-
vation of the African natives. After a good night’s
rest, he took me to see his garden, part of which,
for richness of colour and variety of shrub, would
excel many good gardens ‘in England ; and in part of
it he cultivates tea, the growth of which in this
climate he hopes to develope among the natives. It
will be a very great benefit to the whole colony if
he succeeds. We afterwards rode round his farm.
The enclosure of his native tenants’ grounds, the
little plots of tea plants here and there in their fields,
tell of wise effort to promote their comfort. Be-
sisting the temptations of a weary body, and the
warm invitations of my kind host and his family to
TO CLARKBURY.
243
take rest with them for a few days, I started after
the mid-day meal for the Umzimkulu. Passing a
mission-station of the Church of England, I halted
and prayed with the young missionary, and then
rode on until dark. Neither Solomon nor I knew
the road, hut we trusted to the goodness of the
Lord and the instinct of our horses. When dis-
mounted, we marched together, singing Kaffir hymns.
The first verses of the first might thus he rendered :
* Thou, Lord Jesus, Thyself only
Bare away our sin ;
Thou didst die, in suffering lonely,
Us from death to win.
* All the errors of Thy people
Were effaced by Thee ;
Thou didst purge their guilt for ever, —
They are safe and free ! ’
Such thoughts make the darkest nights light, and
the roughest roads smooth. Truly they assured us of
a Presence with us which cheered our hearts. I had
been told that the farm-house where I had been in-
vited to rest for the night lay some distance from the
road. There was no moon, and as darkness fell the
sky clouded over. But I felt sure the Lord would make
the stars shine at the right time. So it was. After
marching for an hour — not seeing the road before us
—the stars shone brightly, and I soon saw the trees
of the welcome farm-house. Mr. Hancock was not
at home, but his wife, the sister of some dear friends,
244
FROM NATAL
gladly received the benighted stranger. Next morn-
ing her brother-in-law came to breakfast. And havincr
enjoyed my short visit, I rode on and crossed the
Umzimkulu, not knowing whither I was to go. I had
been invited by Mr. Dower, of the London Missionary
Society, to visit his station in Adam Kok’s country.
Adam Kok is the Griqua or Hottentot chief, and Mr.
Dower’s mission is at his great place, called Kok
Stadt. To visit him was to go nearly a hundred
miles out of my road. I was very tired, and I
doubted whether my horses would last out. But I
remembered my prayers when coming to Africa,
both from Singapore and afterwards from England,
that the Lord would make me a witness for Him in
this land. So, trusting His strength for myself and
my beasts, I turned off the main road to the colony,
and travelled on to the country of Adam Kok.
But before I leave Natal, I must write a few
lines on the policy of the Home Government to-
wards the natives in that colony. God forbid that
I should write one word against the Government of
my country. ' Bebeilion is as the sin of witchcraft,’
whether against God or man. There are, however,
many things in the laws by which the natives in Natal
are governed , of which} I am sure , nearly every member
of Parliament and responsible person in Great Britain
is entirely ignorant. As they are answerable to God
and man for these laws, it is right they should know
TO CLARKBURY.
245
something about them. Were it a matter of colo-
nial legislation only, I should not think it right in
this hook to notice them. But these things, which
are crying evils, and threaten to ruin the colony of
Natal, are laws forced on the Zulu Kaffirs by the
Government of Great Britain itself. They are laws
from Downing Street, from the Colonial Secretary,
and they come to the Zulu Kaffirs as the combined wis-
dom and will of the great Queen of England and her
lawgivers and people. I am well aware that they
are the suggestions of the Natal Colonial Secretaries
from time to time, and therefore the Home Govern-
ment should not be blamed for them. But these
evils ought to be remedied as soon as possible, and
I hope that this hook may he read by some mem-
bers of Parliament who, in the interest of a large
English colony and a large Kaffir tribe, will insist
on their abolition or amelioration.
These laws relate, —
1st. To marriage.
2 d. To the protection of the natives by English law.
3d. To the native reserves.
1st. I can hardly expect to be believed, and
many will say I am misinformed, but I am not.
The present law of marriage forced on the Zulu
Kaffirs, under the sanction of the British Parliament
and nation, is, that no native in the colony of Natal
(however poor) can marry without paying a fee of
246
FROM NATAL
Jive pounds to the British Government. Again, that
any native marrying a girl , widow , or divorced woman,
must pay the price demanded for her by her father or
guardian, not exceeding ten head of cattle for common
people, or about £120.
Were ever such laws heard of as having the sanc-
tion of the English nation ? The first is an absurd
attempt to stop polygamy ! The second is a foolish
endorsement of Kaffir law.
2d. As to the protection of the natives by English
law. — There are now living in the colony of Natal
many hundreds of natives who, having been bom and
brought up under the British Government, and in-
structed by missionaries, are desirous of leaving the
heavy bondage of the Kaffir laws of their heathen
fathers, and putting themselves and their families
under the protection and freedom of English law.
It might be expected that the support of such men
would be the object of Government. But it seems
not. The present law is, that ‘ a native can only be
released from native law by fourteen years' continuous
residence in the colony, a good character, a certain
amount of personal wealth, and the abjuration of all .
family and tribal rights' (Law 28 of 1865). This
law has been in existence about fifteen years as a
colonial law. Not more than ten natives have been
able to come under its provisions, on account of the
personal property demanded as a right of British
TO CLARKBURY.
247
citizenship ! Were this foolish law abolished, and any
native of good character 'permitted the rights of a British
subject on payment of a fee of £1 for the crown stamp,
the colony and Government of Natal would have to-
morrow the ready support of hundreds of intelligent
and loyal natives, whose interest it would be to up-
hold the power of the British Government, and so
help forward the civilisation of Africa. It is im-
possible to note, in the brief space such a subject
should occupy in this hook, all the evils of the pre-
sent law ; but suffice it to say, that it is a source of
weakness to the Government of the colony, and a
cruel iron hand on the necks of the Christian and
civilised Zulus. Under the present British law of
Natal, a Zulu widow — a Christian — who has been mar-
ried to a Zulu, Christian by Christian rites, becomes
vnth her children, on her husband's decease, the personal
property of the nearest heathen male relative of her
husband ! She and her children become his slaves.
Her husband's property is not hers !
Can anything be worse than this ? I trust that
any British lady who has influential friends will
let them read this. This is Kaffir law, which the
British nation enforces on natives who are weary of
its bondage, and long for the protection of the laws of
the Government under which they live, and to which
they pay taxes ! I have before me the Natal Blue
Book for 1872, and I know that all I write is truth.
248
FROM NATAL
3 d. Native Reserves. — These are simply ‘ pre-
serves for heathenism and barbarism / and festering
sores in the very heart of the colony. They are large
tracts thrown out on the map of the colony, to be
habitations for any natives who choose to live in them,
and in which they are to be undisturbed in their
habits, — their sole obligation to the Government of
Natal being that, 1st, They pay annually 7 s. for each
hut ; 2d, They pay £5 for each marriage.
What is the object of these native locations ? On
what ground of right or sense have they been made ?
If they were tracts of ground given to the original
possessors of the soil in which they could live quietly
after the manner of their fathers, this ipould be just
and good; but it is not the case. On the con-
trary, they are nothing but reservoirs for Kaffirs who
refuse civilisation, and for outcasts from tribes be-
yond the borders, who come into the colony to per-
petuate barbarism and ignorance, and to foment dis-
content. What is the effect of this system ? Natives
having many wives need no other labourers ! They
plough, and their wives till large tracts of land.
The man sells £200 or £300 worth of mealies
every year, — no exaggeration ! He buys another
wife. He is not obliged to send his children to
school, because he is in ‘ a native location/ where no
missionary or white man may trouble him ! He will
not send his children to school. He walks about
TO CLARKBUKY.
249
quite naked on the Queen’s highway. His boys hunt,
and his young men paint, and go about to large
beer gatherings, where the internal weakness of the
colony in reference to war is freely discussed, and a
spirit of restless dissatisfaction with British rule is
promoted. Thus, by this very arrangement, the
Government is hindering the civilisation of the
natives, and perpetuating barbarism in the heart of
this large colony. Contempt for the colonists and
for the native Christians, who are all on the side of
the British Government, and earnestly desire the
protection of the British laws, increases more and
more. Unless the Government insists that the
natives on these locations dress themselves decently,
send their children to school, and do not marry more
wives than they have already, and if none, only take
one woman as a wife, it would be far better to
abolish these native locations, or reserves, altogether.
The sooner that every native subject of the British
Crown in South Africa is allowed to enjoy the rights
of a British citizen , and the protection of British law,
should he so desire it, the better for the Government,
the colony, and the natives of South Africa. I hope
that the British Parliament and nation will not delay
to confer this favour on many hundreds of deserving
African people, who earnestly long for it.
I must now leave Natal. I have hardly noticed
its coffee plantations and sugar fields, its lovely
250
FROM NATAL
climate and its rich beauty. My heart is more
concerned in the prosperity of the souls dwelling
in it. May the Lord work a work of mercy in it,
and send forth His word from it to the tribes beyond !
He has a few of His praying people there, and I
look in due time for an answer to their prayers.
May a more enlightened policy give domestic liberty
to many of its native citizens, and remove some of
the hindrances to civilisation and Christianity ! In
reference to the great evil of polygamy, I have no
doubt that the Government only recognising a mans
first wife as his lawful wife would cause it to cease
in another generation. The African natives are very
amenable to law and order. If Chaka, speaking the
word, could abolish circumcision in his tribe, the
British Government, the authority and ppwer of
which is supreme with the natives, could sweep
away that evil among those Kaffir tribes in which
it still exists, as well as the far greater evil of
polygamy.
I continued my journey to Adam Kok’s country,
and having partaken of the hospitality of Mr.
Stafford, whose house was on the road thither, I
reached Kok Stadt at sunset on 6 th March. It had
been a hard journey from Durban, with much work ;
and when I reached Mr. Dower’s house, fatigue re-
sulted in fever. But well had I been led by my
TO CLARKBURY.
251
Master. I knew not why I pressed on to reach this
mission for this particular Lord’s day, until I heard
on the road yesterday that there was to he a large
political gathering on the following Monday, to hear
the decision of the British Government on the trans-
fer of the country, and that there was to he an
assembly of all the churches on the Lord’s day,
which, in consequence of the above meeting, would
be an unusually large one. How greatly I enjoyed
those nights of fever ! They told me that this body
cannot last for ever, and that soon toil and trial
must cease. They gave me sweetest communion
with the Lord. How greatly I enjoyed preaching
to the assembled Griqua churches ! How I praised
the Lord for bringing me on hither ! Unable to
think much, I prayed the more earnestly that the
Holy Ghost would open my lips ; and I never felt
His power in me more sweetly than on this Lord’s
day. I preached, morning, to Kaffirs and Basutos ;
afternoon, to the Griqua churches ; and then addressed
a woman’s prayer meeting.
On Monday the ceremony of laying the foundation-
stone of a new church took place. The ground had
been given to the London Missionary Society by
Adam Kok. This event caused the postponement
of the political meeting until next day. I did not
go to it, but when it was over, called, as an act of
courtesy, on the old chief. Mr. Dower and his
252
FROM NATAL
wife having arranged to go into Durban this week,
I could not remain longer here ; but the Lord had
graciously provided a very special place of rest for me
in the house of His servant, Mrs. Jenkins, the widow
of a Wesleyan missionary among the Pondos. His
station, Umgundisweni , was distant from Ivok Stadt
about thirty-five miles. Thither I rode on Wednesday
morning. Never was rest more grateful to me than
here. I told my dear elder sister, after I had intro-
duced myself to her, that when I had prayed for the
Lord’s blessing on our meeting and my visit to her
husband’s station, that I must go to bed, as I was
worn out. Thus my diary briefly records the
events of March 11, 12, 13: — ‘ Besting sweetly.
Christian love. Dear Mrs. Jenkins’ house is a
haven of rest, and her motherly care and kindness
refreshed me greatly.’ The husband of this servant
of the Lord had been a companion of Mr. James
Allison’s at Bouchapp in 1832, and in 1837 came
into Pondoland, to preach the gospel in this large
heathen tribe. In 1845 he founded the station of
Palmerton, and in 1863 that of Umgundisweni.
How greatly he won the esteem and confidence of
Faku, the great Pondo chief, and his people, is
proved by the almost filial reverence with which his
widow is treated by the present chief and the Pondo
tribe. It is very easy for white men to abuse the
African people, of whose qualities most of them are
TO CLARKBURY.
253
very ignorant ; but I doubt whether in any nation
of Europe, the widow of a sovereign, however good,
would be treated with the same chivalrous delicacy
with which the Pondo chief and people treat the
widow of their late missionary ! Let one instance
suffice for all. The Pondos had been beaten in a
battle, in which some of the people of a mission-
station had been compelled to take part against
them. Having assembled an army, the Pondo chief,
Umkokela, marched against his enemies. His people
wished to revenge themselves on that mission-station,
of which Mrs. Jenkins’ brother was the missionary.
Umkokela would not allow it. ‘ How shall I ever
look the wife of my old teacher in the face V He was
urged to let the cattle be taken, the people spared.
Hot at all ! The army remained there four days.
Hot a thing was touched. It then returned back in
peace ! So great is the influence . of this good
woman over this tribe, that she is called ‘ The Queen
of the Pondos.’ Her knowledge of the natives and
her judgment are rare gifts, and rarer still the
Christian grace with which she has welcomed Bishop
Calloway, and used her influence to obtain for him
the support and favour of Umkokela and his people.
She loves the Pondos, and she wisely judges that if
her own Church will not take up in earnest the
evangelization of this large and important tribe, she
is acting in their best interest in trying to obtain
254
FEOM NATAL
for them the teaching of Bishop Calloway and his
fellow-labourers.
I preached to this Pondo church on the 14th
March, the Lord’s day, and in the evening had a
meeting with some Europeans in the house of Mr.
Cameron, the present missionary at this station.
, Next day I was obliged to leave my kind mother,
and a carriage, which her forethought had obtained
for me from a neighbour, one of her friends, Mr.
Smith, a lover of missionaries, took me on to
Palmerton, where I found a hospitable welcome in
the house of Mr. Henry White. A letter from
Bishop Calloway, telling me that he hoped to come
in and see me next day, caused me to rest here until
Thursday, when, supposing that he was detained by
business, I rode on to the Umzimvobo, or St. John's
River, to the home of Mr. Pemberton White, brother
of the friend whose house I left. Next day my host
took me in a boat, with his wife and children, to the
Gates of St. John, as the rocks at the mouth of this
river are called. I enjoyed the row, the scenery,
the breakfast on the beach, and above all, the com-
munion in the Lord with my dear brother. We
read Ephes. i. as we sat together, with the Gates of
St. John open before us, — fit emblem of the narrow
entrance to the way of life, of the mighty rocks of
everlasting truth which overhang and protect it, and
of the river of the water of life which flows in
TO CLARKBURY.
255
ceaseless love along it, so that weary travellers may
drink thereof and neither faint nor die !
Next morning, marched at sunrise. Reached
Buntingville, a Wesleyan mission-station, about two
hours after dark. Journey, fifty miles over a rough
country. The brother of my dear friend Warner,
of Mount Arthur, had long been waiting to see me,
and from him and his wife I received a hearty
welcome.
March 21. — Preached to the Pondo church on
the history of Caleb, who wholly followed the Lord.
Afternoon, on prayer, its power and blessing. Next
day my brother Warner and I gave ourselves to
prayer and the study of the Tvord — Col. ii. The
afternoon I spent alone with the Lord, desiring to
be prepared for whatever might be His will for me
on my return to the Tfanskei. I had not heard
from England for three months, and I knew not
what might be the result of my wife’s letters, whether
fresh service in Africa or a call to my own land.
These letters were waiting for me at Clarkbury, the
next day’s march, and I desired to read them with
a mind entirely subject to the Lord’s will in every-
thing.
I spoke once more to this Pondo church on
Ephes. i. before leaving on Tuesday. My brother rode
with me in the afternoon to a Tembu church across
the Umtata, where we rested for a night at the
256
FROM NATAL
house of the native evangelist, W. Sigenu. It will
ever he a pleasure to me to remember this evening.
A message we sent had not been delivered. The
husband was absent. His wife was suffering from
headache. We arrived after dark with two servants.
Ho lady in England could have received us with
more grace than did this daughter of Africa. She
insisted on preparing us food ; made up two beds
for us, screened off like her own bed-place. How
beautifully clean everything was in that Kaffir hut !
Her three little children never uttered a sound all
night. Truly it was a wonderful visit. I enjoyed
speaking to the people next morning on our Lord’s
words, ‘ Abide in me;’ after which we prayed for a
blessing on her absent husband, and herself and
children in her own house, and so I parted from
her and from my dear brother Warner. Ladies of
England , let nothing hinder you from doing all you can
for the women of Africa. Believe a man who is not
a liar, and who knows what he is writing about.
These poor African women, now sunk in heathenism
and slavery by polygamy, are capable of being
elevated to the enjoyment of all the blessings of
God which you enjoy. Help us who are trying to
help them ; help us by prayer, help us by means.
We crossed the Bashee river an hour before sun-
set; and with a heart full of praise, I reminded
Solomon how wonderfully the Lord had passed us
TO CLARKBURY.
257
through, all the rivers in our long journey during the
rainy season. Once more, after more than three
years’ wanderings, I entered the mission-house of
Clarkbury. This time I had the pleasure of meeting
Mr. Hargreaves, the missionary, who was absent
during my first visit. He and his dear wife made
me very welcome, and I thanked and praised the
Lord that this journey was now virtually over.
The long-expected packet of letters was opened
after much prayer, and I learned that two brethren
from England, with their wives, had arrived in Cape
Town, to join me in preaching the name of the Lord
Jesus to the Galeka Kaffirs. My heart had been
much. touched by the neglected state of this tribe
from the first time that I heard about them, and
met Kreli, their chief, and some of his councillors,
in January 1872. I had often felt since my return
to Africa that I could not go back to England, to
enjoy the comforts of my home, and the longed-for
society of my wife and child, until I had made some
effort to bring to these perishing heathens His name
which is all my salvation, which is life and light.
The whole colony of South Africa would benefit by
the elevation of this important tribe. The United
Presbyterian Church of Scotland, with which I have
been working, has two missions in that part of the
tribe nearest the colony, but in the large tract of
country near the Bashee no missionary had laboured,
R
258
FROM NATAL
and there were thousands of Galekas there who had
never heard the name of God or of Christ. I had
written to my dear wife to send out two brethren
to labour among this people when I should return
to England, and now they were come ! This was a
call to instant and renewed exertion. Good is the
word of the Lord. I felt my own weakness very
deeply, but I knew the power of the Lord Jesus,
and that if He has work for a man to do He will
give him strength to do it. Truly He has proved
it to me many a time, and He will not fail me now.
On the 27th March, after much brotherly com-
munion with dear Mr. Hargreaves, having given my
testimony to the large native church under his care,
I rode to Ngamakwe, where I found my kind friend
Captain Blyth, his wife and children, looking all the
better for the visit they had made to England last
year. It was like being at home again as I entered
the bright, happy company of these dear children,
after a ride in the dark ; and I could not help thank-
ing the Lord, who gives so much happiness to men,
sinners as we all are.
The next day I went unexpectedly to the church
at the Incisininde, and to my great joy found it well
filled, and learned from the faithful elders that nearly
forty souls had been added to the church during
my absence. Thus had the faithful Lord answered
my prayers, and poured out His blessing on this
TO CLA.RKBURY.
259
church and people. I visited the other churches of
my Fingo mission-field, or called their elders to see
me as soon as I could, and had the joy to know
that there had been no trouble among them during
my visit to the churches in the other tribes, and
that altogether more than fifty souls had been added
unto the Lord. Thus had the Lord kept these
native churches, according to my confidence in Him.
‘ lUrbatta.’ — Support Hccbcb . —
W^mfort g«Ian ?
261
'
CHAPTER XIV.
It was hard and desperate work for the outlying
picquets of the British army at Inkerman on the
5th November 1854. They had to hold their
ground against masses of the enemy, waiting for
support from the camp. At length it came. As
the army moved up into position, one of the officers
in command of the skirmishing line bade his bugler
sound the ‘ Retire/ as an order for the picquets to
fall back. The bugler lifted his bugle to his Bps,
turned towards the slowly advancing regiments, and,
with a blast that rang above the rattle of the
musketry, sounded the * Advance !’ ‘I told you to
sound the “ Retire,” ’ said the officer. r I know you
did, sir/ was the bugler’s reply, ‘ but I cannot heljp
it and he turned once more to the advancing line
of his own army, and with desperate energy sounded
the * Advance .’
This is a true story. The officer was right ac-
cording to the custom of war, but the God of battles
inspired the bugler’s heart. The notes of the
263
264
ADVANCE.
' Eetire * would have been a disheartening sound to
the advancing army. The cheery call to 4 advance ’
gave courage to every man who heard it. The
officer was soldier enough to appreciate the bravery
of the bugler. Battle and parade are two different
things. The skirmishing line could not advance for
the weight of their enemies. No harm was done by
this disobedience of orders, and the story is now
written as a moral to the army of the Lord Jesus
Christ, engaged in desperate battle against the
powers of darkness in this world.
The outlying picquets of the great King’s army,
stretching in a long chain across the whole earth,
have hot work just now. Africa in the centre,
America and China, with their islands, on either
flank, are parts of the field in which the effort to
gain ground is hardest. There is stiff work in
many other corners of the battle-field. Eagerly do
the eyes of the skirmishers turn now and again to
the camps in Great Britain, Europe, and America
for support and reinforcement. Some there are, who
call themselves Christians, who profess to believe in
God and in Christ, who would sound either ‘ Halt ’
or ‘ Betire ’ to the outlying picquets of the army,
while at the same time they openly say that sending
out supports is useless. I am one of the buglers in
the King’s army ; so, in the face of all who thus
deny His power and word, I put the bugle He has
SUPPORT NEEDED.
265
given me to my lips. Oh that this pen could ring
out a blast like the archangel’s trumpet ! I would
blow the * Advance ’ so loudly, that I would make
the roof of every church and Christian home in
Great Britain, Europe, and America crash with the
sound — ‘ Advance /’ ‘ Advance !’ ‘ Advance !*
Brethren in the skirmishing line, cheer up !
Whoever among you reads this book, cheer up !
As it was with the riflemen at Waterloo and their
chief, so is it with us to-day and our Chief. He
sees and knows, and His smile cheers us as He
says, ‘ Hard work this, gentlemen ; never mind, let
us see who will pound the longest.’ ‘ Ye have need
of patience : that after ye have done the will of
God ye may receive the reward.’
But wherefore the delay in sending out support ?
It is no fault of the Chiefs . He gave the order for
the advance eighteen hundred years ago; and from
His mountain of holiness He is watching how His
generals, captains, and soldiers are carrying out His
orders. It was the darkest night in the whole
Peninsular campaign, when the Duke of Wellington
was told that, after desperate fighting, the assault on
the town of Badajoz had failed. ‘ Badajoz must be
taken,’ was all he said. It was enough for his
officers and men. One of his soldiers threw himself
on the sword-blades of the chevaux-de-frise, that his
comrades might find a way in over his body. The
266
ADVANCE.
place was won. ‘ The gospel must be 'published among
all nations! Thus our Chief has spoken. Is not
tills enough for His soldiers ? What shall I answer ?
As far as Africa is concerned, David Livingstone has
thrown his body on the chevaux-de-frise which barred
access to the citadel of this great continent, and has
made a way for any who may be able to follow !
Others have opened other ways into other parts of
the enemy’s fortress ; and if they have fallen in
single combat, they have not given their lives for
Christ their Lord in vain. * Whosoever will save
his life, shall lose it ; but whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall
save it.’
Our great King has ordered His army to advance.
Why the delay ? Excuse a soldier, who has studied
the missionary question for years, writing plainly.
Excuse the figures under which he has just spoken.
The professing Church cries, and the world echoes,
‘ Wherefore is there a lack of missionaries V ‘ Behold ,
I told you before says the Lord of Glory, ‘ iniquity
shall abound , and the love of many shall wax cold!
So it must be. Blessed are they who endure faith-
ful to the end. But let us look into the causes of this
coldness. They are, firstly, Unbelief in the success of
what are called foreign missions. This means nothing
less than unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Secondly, The luxury and self-indulgence of the
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Church , and of the training of the proposed ministers
of the gospel. Thirdly, The virtual denial of the
Holy Ghost as God dwelling in each individual be-
litver, and able to will and do in him and by him
the vjhole will of God.
These are the main causes why there is any lack
of men for the mission work of the Church in the
distant parts of the earth. What weakness I feel
as I attempt to write on this great subject ! But I
am writing in the cause of the Lord, and He will
perfect His strength in my weakness, and use my
pen for the furtherance of His kingdom and glory,
according to my earnest prayer.
The Lord Jesus Christ has not failed, and His
Church and people have no right to believe that He
has ever failed, His promises or word by any whom
He has sent out to preach the gospel. I trust that
the testimony of this book may be used of Him to
remove darkness and doubt on this subject from
many minds. What He has done by the few
missionaries of the Church of France in the Basuto
tribe. He has done in many other parts of the
world.
What is the best proof of life in a Church ? Is it
not when that Church desires to spread the gospel
outside its own land as well as in it ? Is it not
when men and women are wining to risk their lives
to carry the gospel where it has never been preached ?
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If so, the French and American and other missions
in South Africa have not failed. Living churches
have been planted. The Holy Ghost has shown that
He has taken up His abode in power in this part of
Africa !
I began to write in behalf of the Mission of the
Church of France, and with joy do I now tell how
the Lord has moved the hearts of His Basuto
children to offer themselves as His messengers to
the tribes beyond. I had the pleasure of meeting
two Basuto evangelists during my visit to that
church, — Aser at Morijah, and Isaiah at Berea.
The story of their labours, alone, in heathen tribes,
will tell whether the Lord Jesus fails the native
Christians of Africa or not. Isaiah was the first to
go forth. He was the son of a great chief, and a
favourite of Moshesh. He was the first convert in
the Berea church, which he joined in 1843. In the
year 1864 Monkopani’s tribe, living about two
months’ journey from Basutoland, sent to the French
mission, and asked them to send teachers. Hone
of the brethren from France could be spared. M.
Maitin, when addressing the church at Thaba-Bosio,
asked, ‘ Will no Christian go for us, and tell Monko-
pani’s people we do not forget them V Isaiah came
to M. Maitin that night, and said he would go. He
took his family. Arrived at the first heathen chief’s,
he asked to be allowed to preach. The people came
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out well. At night a young man came to him, and
told him that he was a Christian. He had heard
the word in Basutoland, but was afraid to confess
Christ. Hex t day Isaiah preached again, and at
the close said : * There is a man here who has hilled
you. He had the knowledge of the gospel, but was
afraid. Therefore he is a murderer! He then took
out a Testament and the Psalms, and asked who
wished to learn. Many offered. He asked the
young man to teach and hold prayer daily, to which
he consented ; and thus was founded a church of
Christ in a heathen tribe ! He travelled on. Five
days afterwards the young man came and asked for
more books, as more people wished to learn ! Isaiah
then went to the chief of Monkopani’s tribe, and
said he was sent by the French missionaries. The
chief had prepared thirty young men for Isaiah to
instruct. He offered either to teach them to read
the word of God, or to learn smith’s work. Twenty-
eight desired to learn God’s word. He at once
opened a school, and started a daily prayer meeting.
An old woman who had a hut close by, and who
had been lame for years, heard the word. To the
surprise of all, she soon began to walk to the
meetings. The heathen said, ‘Is not the God of
Isaiah the true God V The Lord worked with
Isaiah in many ways, and answered his prayers
abundantly.
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It is a deeply interesting story. One day an old
man arrived from a neighbouring village on an ox
(the usual mode of travelling in that country). He
said : ‘ I am told that a God is spoken of here. I
have come to hear about Him, because I wish to see
Him .’ The old man was converted. At this time,
renegades, who had been into the colony, arrived, and
perverted the teaching of the gospel to the chief.
Persecution began, hut not before fifty-five souls had
been gathered into a church in this tribe. On account
of the war between the Basutos and Boers, the
French missionaries had not been able to send help
to Isaiah, who, being denied food by the chief, was
obliged to go away. His converts went with him.
At the place where he first preached he found a
German missionary. The young man had been kept
stedfast, and a church had been formed, to which the
fifty -five members from Monkopanis tribe were added !
Isaiah continued to preach the gospel among the
natives in the Free State until the war was over,
when he returned to Basutoland.
Surely this story of the Lord’s mighty power with
a solitary Basuto evangelist should strengthen the
faith of His people in Europe and America. The
facts have been authenticated. The German mis-
sionaries who met Isaiah testified to his faithful
labour and its abundant fruit.
Yet more encouraging is the recent journey of
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Aser to explore the country north of the Limpopo,
with a view to preaching the gospel. He left the
station of Mr. Hofmeyer, of the Dutch Reformed
Church, near Zoutpansberg, in the North Transvaal,
in May 1874, with other companions. Sickness
and difficulties tried them, and but for Aser’s faith
and courage the others would have gone back. He
told them that these things were from the Evil One,
but that the Lord Jesus was with them, and would
certainly prosper their journey. After a remarkable
deliverance from death, he travelled on to the Baniai,
a large tribe living in 19° S. lat. They have a
tradition , ' that one of our chiefs died , and rose from
the dead. He is coming back to us, and we wait for
Him. We do not knoio His name .’ Aser told them
that it was of the Lord Jesus their fathers had heard.
Three of the chiefs of the Baniai have offered, with
great pleasure, to receive the gospel, and have already
given places for mission-stations. They wait for
preachers of Christ. Farther on there is another
large tribe, which Aser could not visit, said to he
the most industrious and intelligent race in Africa,
the Mashona. He returned, after a long, arduous,
and dangerous journey of many hundred miles, to
Basutoland, and thus he spoke : * When we began
to retrace our steps, tears came into my eyes. I wished
it had been possible for me to cut off my right arm and
change it into a missionary, to preach the gospel in one
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'place; then to cut off my left arm, to make it a mis-
sionary in another place ; then to do the same with each
of my legs and my head!
Soon after his return, Aser visited the churches in
Basutoland, beseeching them to make a strong and
united effort to send the gospel to these distant
tribes. His cry for help will certainly be heard.
May his words to the Basuto churches echo through-
out Great Britain and America, and win more sym-
pathy and help for the native churches of Africa !
Thus he addressed them : ‘ Seeing that these nations
are dead, do you feel no pity for them ? Will you
really let them die ? Christians, shake off your sleep ;
the night is past, it is now noonday. You have
eaten long enough the bread of the gospel ; you are
satisfied. Other nations desire that bread. Get up ;
go to them. Tell them- what the Lord Jesus has done
for them, you who have hitherto quietly sat at His table,
eating the best of His food. You to whom Jesus has
forgiven all your sins; you, the children of Jesus,
who have found salvation, rise and go to those who are
still without the promises of eternal life, which have
been granted to you!
His appeal has not been in vain. His example
has moved others. The Lord has worked by His
Spirit among the young men preparing for preachers
of the gospel, and all but one have offered themselves
to the Lord, to go wherever He calls them. Some will
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go with Aser, before the close of this year, to preach
the name of Jesus to the Baniai. One church in
Basutoland gave £24; others will help; but the
Mission of the Church of France has not sufficient
means to prosecute this work without help from
other Churches. Any help sent to me for this native
mission will be gladly forwarded. My whole heart
goes with it.
The cry of the French Mission in South Africa is,
‘ Advance ! The cry of the American Mission in
South Africa is, * Advance ! Native Christians speaking
Zulu are ready to go with the name of Christ wher-
ever their American brethren may lead or send them.
The Zulu Church subscribed £30 at one meeting
last year to this cause. The cry of some of the
missionaries and native Christians in the Kaffir
churches is, ‘ Advance! What do the Mission Boards
say ? What do the Lord's treasurers in the Churches
of Great Britain , Europe , and America say ?
The time has come when the great duty of spread-
ing the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout
the earth must be taken up in earnest by the
Churches. He has manifested Himself so plainly in
their midst during the last two years, that it is a sin
for any professing Christian to doubt His presence
with His Church and His power in the earth. What
He has done in Europe and America, He can do in
Asia and Africa. All that is needed is prayer and
s
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effort. Effort among tribes where the name of Jesus
has never been preached necessitates men and means.
As regards the men. — I do not hesitate to say that,
as far as Africa is concerned, the Church may safely
go hack to the Lord’s example in the selection of His
apostles in choosing missionaries to the heathen. If
men cannot be found who have had the education of
Paul, there are plenty who have had the same edu-
cation as John and Peter, who will do as well, pro-
vided only they are humble men, full of love and faith.
There are elements in a college education which sadly
militate against the spirit of Christ. The desire to
excel, to gain a reputation, to obtain position, are all
contrary to His teaching, who inculcated love and the
humility of a little child as the greatest virtues in His
servants and service. How much mischief the con-
trary teaching has done the Church, who can tell ?
I do not underrate learning or education, but I
believe that every experienced missionary will sup-
port me in stating that humility, love, and patience,
with the ignorant heathen of Africa, are more useful
in preaching the gospel of Christ than any educa-
tional attainments.
As regards the means. — There is no lack in the
Church of Christ. When one hears of a church in
Hew York giving one million dollars to build a place
of worship ; when one hears of Christians in Great
Britain building houses at enormous cost, and pos-
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sessed of colossal wealth ; when one sees chairs for
fifty and one hundred dollars in the houses of
American Christians, and curtains, pictures, and
vases for fifty or one hundred pounds in the houses
of British Christians, — then one knows that the
Lord has put the means for spreading His gospel in
the power of His Church. But His people spend
His money on themselves and their own pride and
self-iudulgence, instead of on Him and His work
throughout the earth. The responsibility rests with
them. He gives them the opportunity of showing
their faith and love to Him. If they fail to avail
themselves of it, theirs will be the loss throughout all
eternity.
How greatly Christians need the spirit of a sound
mind in regard to giving ! I believe there was deep
teaching in our Lord’s words to His apostles, ‘ The
poor ye have with you always, but me ye have not
always .’ Those words have a voice to His people
now. They may sell their elaborate box and give
to the poor, entirely neglecting their Lord and His
last desire and command, ‘ Preach the gospel to every
creature .’ The poor should not he neglected. Neither
should our Lord’s parting command be forgotten and
disobeyed.
That mistakes have been made by missionaries
and Mission Boards in their efforts to evangelize the
tribes of Africa, as in other parts of the world, can-
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not be denied. The success of the French Mission
in South Africa may be attributed to their having
devoted the whole strength of their mission to one tribe,
before that tribe had learnt the evils which unhappily
attend the civilisation of the white man. Other
Missionary Societies in South Africa, instead of
devoting their energies to one tribe, and planting an
efficient staff of missionaries in that tribe, have
planted missions in each tribe. Thus there are
now to be found in many tribes, Congregational,
Wesleyan, Free and United Presbyterian, and Church
of England missions, mingled together in hopeless
confusion, and the work of the Lord is seriously
hindered.
I only notice this, so that, in the occupation of
the interior of Africa — which I trust will soon take
place — some arrangement may be made between
these various Mission Societies which shall prevent
a repetition of such mischief. The country is large
enough for all, and there need be no interference
with another’s labours. The more widely apart
each Society works, the sooner will the gospel of
Christ be preached, and the more easily and quickly
will it spread.
It has been my privilege to talk and to pray with
M. Mabille of the French Mission, Mr. Tyler of the
American Mission, and other missionaries labouring
in Africa, who are deeply interested in the great
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question of the evangelization of the interior of this
land. I never believe that prayers such as ours in
faith are offered in vain. It may interest the reader
to hear what were our conversations and our hopes
as to the sending forth of the gospel to the regions
inland.
To the London Missionary Society, which is bear-
ing the name of Christ onward through Moselekatsi’s
tribe, and penetrated as far as lat. 16° S., long. 24° E.
in 1860, be the post of honour given. How I love
this Society, and the faithful men it has sent forth
into the mission-field throughout the world ! One
band of its missionaries sealed their faith with their
lives in Central South Africa. Mr. and Mrs. Hel-
more and Mrs. Price died for Jesus at Liny anti in
1860. Sekeletu, the chief, tempted by Mahuse, a
heathen who was allowed to accompany the party,
plundered Mr. Price, the only survivor. Four years
after this, Sekeletu, having been stricken with leprosy ,
died, and his whole tribe was treacherously destroyed
by their neighbours ! The fear of the Lord has come
upon the natives, and they say : ‘ Let the mission-
aries alone. The Makololo injured the missionaries.
Where are the Makololo ? *
May the Lord prosper this Society in its work
here and elsewhere ! It has now formed a new line
of stations towards the Zambesi, as far as 1 5° S. lat.,
through Moselekatsi’s tribe. Pive men are coming
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out to join this mission. May the London Mission-
ary Society continue to extend its good work in
Central Southern Africa !
In Eastern Southern Africa, the Berlin, Norwe-
gian, the Church Missionary, Hermamisberg Socie-
ties, and the Dutch Reformed Church, and the
Churches of France and of the Canton de Yaud
are advancing by various lines, in what soldiers
would call very irregular echelon. The Berlin is
on the flank of the London Missionary Society, and
has gone up as far as lat. 23°. This Society has
fifty-one missionaries in the field. The Lord blessed
its labours very largely some years ago in Likukum’s
tribe. Persecution then commenced. Many Chris-
tians were nearly beaten to death. Few denied the
faith. Those who escaped have formed a large and
flourishing Christian settlement. The work goes on.
The Church Missionary Society is on the flank of
the Berlin Mission, as far as lat. 26°, nearer the sea.
The rest of the East coast, up to Zanzibar, from 26° to
6° lat., is an open field. Part of this field the Ame-
rican Mission in Natal proposes to enter. The tribes
up the East coast, as far as Sofala, in lat. 20°, speak
Zulu, Swasi, and Tongu. The American mission-
aries have already proposed this mission, and have
learned that, whether by land or sea, the country can
he entered. A very brotherly letter has been re-
ceived by them from Mr. Thompson, the missionary
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of the London Society in Moselekatsi’s tribe, saying
that the chief of the tribe they purpose to visit is
willing to receive missionaries, and that he will do
all he can to help them. Should the American
Mission take up this work, it would be necessary to
form a depot at Zoutpansberg, in the north of the
Transvaal. The opening of this mission was con-
sidered at Umsunduzi in June 1874, and Mr.
Pinkerton offered to go. The gospel of Christ has
never been preached there.
The Mission of the Church of France, as has been
above noted, has a native mission going up into the
interior as far as 19° S. lat., at some distance from
other missions. They hope to send on European
missionaries to strengthen this mission.
The Free Church of Scotland has organized a mis-
sion, at the appeal of my friend Dr. Stewart of Love-
dale, to plant the name and faith of Christ on the
west of Lake Nyassa, in lat. 13°, long. 33°. They
purpose to call the name of this Christian colony
Livingstonia, in remembrance of David Livingstone.
The little Church of the Canton de Vaud has sent
out two labourers to this vast field. They have
now entered a large tribe of some 150,000 souls,
to preach the name of Jesus. Pray for the brethren
Creux and Berthoud.
The United Methodist and Church Missionary
Societies have planted missions at Eibe and Mombas,
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in lat. 4° and 6°. While I write, I mourn the loss
of New, for twelve years a faithful labourer in East
Africa. He is gone to his reward. The Church
can only be silent, and pray that a double portion
of the Spirit of the Lord which was upon him may
be given to many successors in that field.
There is a mission of the Universities at Zanzibar,
to which I was one of the first subscribers. But
it is, as I have heard, a ritualist establishment.
Knowing what harm ritualistic teaching has done
in Africa, I do not reckon it among the Missions of
the Church of Christ, especially as I have not heard
that it has entered the mainland.
In Western Southern Africa, the Bhenish Mis-
sionary Society is carrying the gospel up to the
equator. May it be abundantly blessed, and send
out rivers of living water towards the interior !
Such are the present prospects of the great work
of spreading the gospel in Africa south of the equa-
tor. On paper it reads as if much had already been
done. And so, indeed, much has been done, — very
much, considering the feeble human instrumentality
and the mighty impediments. But look at the map ;
touch with a pencil all these points, and it will be
seen what vast fields must be entered by the soldiers
of Christ. He has said that faith as a grain of
mustard seed shall move mountains. May He be-
stow that faith on His Churches in Great Britain,
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Europe, and America, that, believing in Him, they
may give men and means for bearing on His name
into Central Africa, from the north, south, east,
and west.
There is one lesson which the Church of Christ
has failed to draw from the many years’ labours of
Livingstone, and the frequent brief termination of
so many zealous labourers’ work in the trying cli-
mates of Eastern and Western Africa. This is the
wisdom of sending men already acclimatized, and
acquainted with the African character and habits, to
labour for Christ in those fields. It must not be sup-
posed, because the Ashantee and Abyssinian expedi-
tions were so marvellously preserved from sickness,
that those climates are not most trying to the Euro-
pean constitution ; and very few Europeans can stand
the heat and necessary exposure. The troops only
visited those countries for a few months in the
healthy season. They had constant healthy excite-
ment. The missionary must endure far greater
hardships than the soldier, and must remain ex-
posed to all the changes of climate, should the Lord
so will, for many years.
If the time has come that the Church of Christ
should spread the knowledge of His name in Central
Africa, and if that climate is one in which the Euro-
pean cannot well bear too severe labour, it must be
plainly the Lord's will that the Christians of Africa,
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those of that country who have been brought from
heathenism into the kingdom of God , should bear the
brunt of this work. Yes ; the time has come when
the missionary work of Africa must be undertaken
by the native churches. No missionary expedition
should be sent into the interior without a sufficient
band of chosen and tried native Christians. The
churches in South Africa should be prepared to send
their best men. Any church in Africa which would
not send a man should be considered a failure, and
the missionary of such a church might count that
his labour had been vain. But from the narratives
of Isaiah and Aser, it will be seen that there are
native Christians willing to go in the name of the
Lord. I know others ; and I doubt not, that if the
honour and duty of this great work were put pro-
perly before the native churches, there would be
no lack of faithful men to help in the evangeliza-
tion of Central Africa. Frequently during my jour-
neys did I tell the native churches that this work
was their duty, and that they must be prepared to
leave country and friends, as we had done, and carry
the name of Jesus to the tribes beyond.
Who is going to take up the honour of planting
the banner of the Lord to the west of Lake Tangan-
yika ? This is, I believe, the spot named by Liv-
ingstone as the best mission centre in Central Africa.
There are, I believe, missionaries in Southern Africa
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ready to go if the way is opened up before them.
I had hoped and prayed that, if it were the Lord’s
will, the American Church would take up this great
work, and I looked upon Natal, and their mission
there, as a providential arrangement to this end. I
do not abandon this hope, even now that I know
the thoughts of my American brethren in regard to
Sofala. The Lord give to His Church of America a
right judgment in all things ! They can do both.
If not, I believe that of the two, with Natal as a
depot and a training station for missionaries, they
could carry out the mission to Lake Tanganyika as
soon as a base of operations on the seaboard had
been established and communication opened, almost
as easily as to Sofala via Zoutpansberg. But on
this point my knowledge is worth nothing.
Should the Church of America not wish to take
up this mission, may it please the Lord, by whom-
soever He will, to form an Inland African Mission ,
supported by His Church at large, and supplied
with men, Europeans and natives, from the churches
of Southern Africa, or any other churches, whose
previous training in the mission-field would render
them fit at once to enter on that work. I believe
that such a mission would never want good men,
and that it would be abundantly blessed of the
Lord. It would need to be superintended by a
man who had the confidence of the churches of
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Africa, and who would be able to visit them and
obtain native labourers for that field. The expense
of such a mission would be very great at the first
outset ; but if the Lord delighted in it, He would
provide the money as well as find the men.
My present engagement in the opening of the
little mission the Lord has given me to the Galeka
tribe, prevents my offering to take an active part in
that great work. Should it be His will to permit
my return to England, I must fulfil the desire of
years — only laid aside for this work in Africa — to
visit the churches of France, the Church of my
fathers, and to see once more my beloved friends in
America. This done, if health and strength remain,
and the Lord calls me, I am as willing to go out to
Lake Tanganyika and name the blessed name of
Jesus there, as I am that others should go before
me, if the Lord grants them so great privilege and
honour. I know whom I believe, and that He will
do, as He ever hath done, all things well. He
maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.
And now, before I close this book, I must answer
a question which might be raised as to what have
been the results of my visit to these native churches.
Thank God, I can answer it. My journey was
attended with much blessing. I will quote letters
which I have received from Basutoland and else-
where, because they prove that such visits to the
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scattered missions of the Church of Christ are
sources of blessing, and should be made by Chris-
tians for the purpose of cheering and refreshing the
Lord’s faithful servants, living for His sake in
foreign lands, and very often in isolated positions,
surrounded by heathen.
One dear brother writes from Basutoland : ‘ The
effects of your short stay in the churches of Basuto-
land have been such, thanks to your Master the
Lord Jesus, that I would urge on you the duty of
travelling throughout South Africa. I am praying
that the Lord may direct you by His good Spirit.
Mr. Somerville is gone to India to do this work, but
it is not likely that any one will think of coming to
South Africa for the same purpose.’
Another brother in Basutoland wrote : f You will
know hereafter, and then have greater joy and
praise, that the Lord sent you to us. I feel our faith
is increased, and we will have more trust in the
Lord and in the word of His promise.’
Thus wrote my dear elder brother, James Allison,
now in glory, from Impolweni, in Natal : —
* It is cheering to those missionaries who are
deprived by their position from enjoying the intel-
ligent communion of saints, to find that the outer
Christian world does not entirely overlook them.
Even Paul was refreshed in spirit and comforted by
the coming of Titus. Such has been the result of
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your visit to Natal. By you it lias pleased the
Lord to comfort and quicken the hearts of many of
His dear children. His presence was indeed with
you. To Him he all the praise and glory ! Since
you left, I have been reading a very precious book,
entitled, A Report of the General Missionary Con-
ference at Allahabad in 1872—73, in which is stated
the great and blessed results of visitations, such
as we have had from you. This has led the
American Methodist Episcopal Mission to set apart
a missionary for carrying out a system of periodical
visitation.’
I trust that other Churches will follow that
example, so long as they choose men of love and
prayer, for those are the best qualifications for such
work. Love and prayer lead to daily study of
God’s word, and blessing comes.
It is not these letters which give me- cause to
praise the Lord, so much as the remembrance of the
happy, loving smiles, and often tears, which I saw
on the faces of these isolated and wearied brethren,
to whom it was my privilege to minister as much
as I could of the love of our blessed Lord and the
comforts of His holy word. Him I praise, for He
specially prepared me for this work by bringing me,
when in London, under the holy teaching of an aged
captain of the navy, whose delight it was to say to
me concerning the word of God, 'Dear brother, I
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have studied no booh but this for fifty years' The
teaching I received from him was especially blessed
to my own soul, and has given, by the power of the
Holy Ghost, renewed life and joy to many, many
souls in Africa. Thus the Lord works. Praise His
name !
From the native Christians everywhere I received
the most precious acknowledgment of blessing re-
ceived by my visit. When I left Mori j a, all the
young men of the seminary, who are preparing for
teachers of schools, wrote to me, thanking me for
my instruction in God’s word. I spent some time
every evening with them over the life and example
of Daniel. The last evening I specially dwelt on
the promise, ‘ They that turn many to righteousness,
as the stars for ever and ever * urging them to
choose now the service of the Lord Jesus, and the
preaching of His gospel, at whatever cost.
I have selected the letter of the faithful Aser,
who is improving his education there, until the time
comes for him to go on, in the Lord’s name, to the
Baniai. It is very characteristic. It is expressed
as an African Christian speaks. It also contains a
salutation to the Christians of my ‘ village,’ London :
‘ Dearly loved Missionary, — I am rejoiced on
your account. I am rejoiced at the help you have
given us. You have well exhorted us by the word
of God which has gone forth out of your mouth.
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That word has nourished our souls. This is our
prayer : That God will accompany you wherever
you go ; that by the word which He will give you
He may grant you many children, who will praise
Jesus at home [heaven]. Again, that by your
journey He will cause men to come out and live for
Jesus. When you arrive in the midst of the flock
that you are keeping for Jesus, think always of this
school. Pray for it, that it may live for Jesus.
Walk always with God. Salute for us all the
churches that you wTill visit. Salute for us the
people of your “ village.”
‘Pare thee well. — I am, Aser.’
I am rejoiced indeed on his account for the
exceeding grace given to him. I am rejoiced that
since my visit, as I have above noted, every young
man but one in that seminary has offered himself to
the Lord for mission service. I am rejoiced that a
blessing has come on this church, and that since
my visit many souls have been gathered in from the
heathen. Amongst those converted was a woman,
who said she was led to believe while I was ex-
plaining to the people the meaning of the word
‘ gospel ,’ — ‘ the good news of fidl, free , instant, and
eternal forgiveness of sins, and salvation through the
blood of the Lord Jesus! I only mention this
because some preachers urge people to believe the
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gospel who do not know what the blessed word
means !
Those who have read my experience of God’s love
while serving in the British army, will see in these
blessings an answer to the three months of earnest
prayer that the Lord would use me to further His
kingdom in Africa, before I resigned my commission
to be a preacher of His word and gospel. I hope
and expect a yet fuller answer to those prayers. It
is my joy to praise the Lord for answered prayer ;
and I will therefore follow up my testimony to His
faithfulness to me as a soldier, by recording answers
which He gave me to prayers for my men three
years after I left the service ! I note these things
specially for the encouragement of Christian officers
of our army and navy who are seeking in prayer
and love the good of their men. To them I say :
‘ Be ye stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord ; forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ I en-
deavoured to visit the two wings of my old regiment
before it left Africa for England. One was quartered
at King William’s Town, the other at Pieter-Maritz-
berg — distant from each other 400 miles. I have
described the ride. The Natal wing embarked just
as I reached the capital. From both wings the
Lord has given me abundant testimonies to answered
prayers, and especially to His blessing on individual ,
T
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personal conversation with soldiers concerning Himself.
‘ Tell Major Malan that I am very sorry I ever
should have refused to hear the gospel from him.’
* Tell Major Malan I am very sorry for all the
trouble I gave him/ How greatly the Lord blessed
my example of total abstinence, and my prayers
for my drinking men ! I met one of the greatest
drunkards in this regiment, whom I had often sent
to cells, with a smile on his face, and £20 in bank,
and he hailed me as an old friend ! But perhaps
the most remarkable answer to my prayers for my
old comrades was the following letter, addressed to
me by several of them as a parting message of love
before they embarked for England : — ‘ We all bear you
in kindly remembrance, and, now that we are sober
men, can fully understand all your goodness to all
your fellow-soldiers ; and for your great and many
kindnesses to us, we sincerely thank you. And that
God will bless you in your glorious labour, that you
may be spared to visit us and your native land once
more, is the prayer of your obliged servants and fellow-
soldiers ! I accept this testimony from the Lord as
His seal to my humble efforts to serve Him in my
old regiment. It comforts me for many a bitter
trial, and fills my soul with praise.
The outlying piquets of the King’s army through-
out the earth are waiting for reinforcements and
support before advancing into the enemy’s country.
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We do not look to the generals and captains of
the camps in Europe and America, but we look
to our King, according to His command, and pray
Him to stir them up. We also pray that He
will make the keepers of His exchequer liberal
in their grants, for the expenses of the war are
heavy. We have many native brethren who are
willing enough to come to the front, hut we need
clothing and rations for them. Our King will
supply arms and ammunition out of His royal ar-
moury and magazines. We don’t complain of you
to Him, but we rather fear that some of you will he
ashamed before Him at His coming. He has given
you the use of treasure for us, and you won’t send
us enough. What will you say to Him by and by ?
Your camps are full of men, while our ranks are
thinning fast. Why don’t you send support ?
Do not imagine that we are troubled beyond
measure on your account. Hot at alL Our King
takes care of that. His word cheers us. His joy
strengthens us. His power keeps us. His pro-
mises support us. We shout out to each other, now
and again, as we pass in the fight, ‘ Rejoice in the
Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice.’
Here is a letter from the front. Read it. It
does not sound much like retreat. It is from S.
Hofmeyer, living alone with his wife among the
heathen in the north of the Transvaal. He refers
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to Aser’s journey. Mr. Hofmeyer’s friends wish
him to go hack to ‘ civilised life !’ but he prefers
to remain in the outposts of the King’s army : —
‘ I was very happy indeed when Aser returned
with Simon from the Baniai, though not astonished!
As a God-fearing sister once remarked, “ It is just
like Him .” As yet the world will say, “ What did
you get for your trouble ?” But we can in faith
rejoice whenever we see the footprints of the King of
kings, for vnth Him, to fight and to overcome is just
one. It is He who can of a truth say : Veni, vidi ,
vici. I like the Lord acting as He does. He just
sends a couple of natives (heathen not long ago),
and through them gets — what the great kings of the
earth cannot effect by firearms — the consent of
mighty heathens to come and attack their deities in
their own atmosphere ! Oh, how the Hark One
gnashes his teeth ! Oh, how I love to tell the
heathen that we are going to conquer the whole
world without guns ! We are sent by the King of
kings. Already we have done much more than fire-
arms, but we are not going into winter quarters yet !
‘ Oh, may we all, all, and every missionary in the
field (the whole earth) be a spiritual warrior, and
feel himself a part of the whole army. How soon would
we bring the heathen to the feet of Emmanuel ! — Yours,
and with you in Christ,
‘ Stephanus Hofmeyek.’
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This letter was written to my brother Mabille,
who read it to me. I felt that it was a voice to the
whole mission-field, and I claimed it as public pro-
perty, in the name of the King. May it cheer many
a servant of the Lord, and strengthen their faith.
And now, before closing this book, I must note
how, as an exceeding and abundant answer to my
prayers as a soldier, the Lord has given me the
honour of opening this new mission in the Galeka
tribe. My brethren and their wives are with me.
We hope to establish two preaching centres, — one
at a spot which Kreli, their chief, selected and gave
to me, where the grounds of four principal chiefs
meet. It is therefore very central. The other
station is amid the wild population of the Bashee
valley. I have called the first, where I hope Mr.
Noble and his wife will labour, Uxolo, which is the
Kaffir for 'peace ; and the second, where I trust Mr.
and Mrs. Clarke will labour, Utando , or love. They
are within four miles of each other. The brethren
will therefore be able to labour together. At the
same time there will be two centres of Christian
influence instead of one. I hope to enjoy and share
their opening labours at each station. The Lord
has wonderfully guided us. He has answered our
prayers in a very marked way, and provided for
my brethren and their wives on their arrival in this
country, so as to give us abundant cause for praise.
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ADVANCE.
My prayer in regard to this little opening is,
that ‘ the little one may become a thousand , and the
small one a strong nation and that ‘ the Lord will
hasten it in His time! There is a perfectly wild
tribe, called the Bomvanas, on the other side of
the Bashee, who have no missionary; and I hope
to be able to send the name of Jesus to them.
We live in days in which the Lord is working
mightily, and brings great things out of small.
I hope that ere long an African Inland Mission
may be developed from some of the centres in this
country.
The positive indwelling of God, the Holy Ghost,
the Spirit of life and truth and love, in each indi-
vidual Christian, as the promise of the Father and
the gift of the Lord Jesus, is a solemn, blessed, and
glorious reality, very usually forgotten by many when
they think and speak on the question of foreign
missions. Men who are eloquent about it in regard
to home missions, are too often silent when the great
duty and necessity of preaching the gospel to the
heathen of Asia, Africa, and South America is brought
forward. This virtual denial of the power of the
Holy Ghost working with the missionaries of the
Church, directing their way, and opening the hearts
of men and women to receive the word as much as
in the times of the apostles, is a spiritual paralysis
in the Church, of which it needs healing by the
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water of the word. Granted that the Lord Jesus lives ,
that the Holy Ghost works now as ever according to
the faith and 'prayer of the Church, what then is the
reason why the Church withholds its men and treasure
from the sending forth of the gospel ? Why does it
squander both, — the one on extravagant buildings
for the worship of Christ, while the heathen are
perishing, and His commands neglected ; the other
in doing much of the work of the Church which the
elder and more experienced members, though un-
ordained, would do much better ?
And now, silence ! It is time for prayer . ‘ The
Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep
silence before Him! The whole power of the Church
of Christ lies in prayer . The promises of God are
unlimited to believing prayer. ‘ All things, whatsoever
ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive How
thankful I am that Livingstone was found on his
knees ! Does it not tell us whence came the power
for his self-denial, his courage, his endurance ? Oh
the mighty power of prayer ! How it opens the doors
of the heart ! how it quickens the energies of the
soul ! how it revives hope ! how it strengthens faith !
Only let Christians pray earnestly for the spread of
the Lord’s kingdom throughout the earth, they will
find their purse-strings loosed. The Lord will honour
them to answer their own prayer. Only let them
pray the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth labourers
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into the harvest, in sincerity and truth ; they will
soon find themselves employed in various ways in
His service. Has the Church given sufficient value
to our Lord’s example in prayer ? His nights and
His early mornings of prayer, have they no voice
for the Church in these days ?
Our greatest delight, relaxation, and joy ought to
he a season of prayer ! By it we share in spirit all
the labours and joys and sweet communions of our
brethren and friends at home and abroad. Almost
daily I leave my own cares, and go to England and
throughout the world in spirit, — the Mildmay
Mission ; the Home of Industry ; the institutions of
Barnardo and Guinness ; the work of Holland and
Varley ; the blessed labours of Moody and Sankey ;
the Blackdown Hills in Somerset; the rocks of
Ferry den and Usan near Montrose ; the works of the
Lord in these places and many others throughout
Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and the Isles ; all
my dear brethren and sisters labouring for the Lord
Jesus, — Blackwood, Radstock, Spiers, Moreton, Kirk-
ham, Morgan, Scott, Shaftesbury, Polwarth, Marcus
Rainsford, Haslam, Chalmers, Marsh, Hunter, Quar-
rier, MAdl, de Broen, de Lille, Fisch, Babut, Levat,
Monod, Claxton, Dodge, M'Birney, Thane Miller,
Atterbury, Whately, Price, Robb, Hudson Taylor,
Judd, Moule, Valentine, Douglas and others in
China, Cook, Macdonald and others at Singapore,
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and very many elsewhere. Oh, what a sweet, sweet
privilege is prayer !
‘ Though sundered far, by faith we meet !’
How the Lord repays prayer by prayer ! I
have often prayed by name for those I had never
seen, but of whom I have heard that they were
labouring for the Lord. Now I am constantly
hearing of friends in many lands who have never
seen me, but who have begun to pray for me. Does
not this prove that man is a spiritual being, and not
— as Darwin, Huxley, and Tyndall teach — a beast ?
The first thing that the Lord laid on my heart on
coming back to Africa, was the necessity of striving
to rouse the Church in South Africa to union
in prayer. Fervent , believing , desiring prayer is the
true sign of lifey and the earnest of coming blessing
wherever it exists. It is the only union possible
in a scattered colony, with no means of communica-
tion between Christians. All who joined in it
have received blessing. The spirit of prayer is cer-
tainly spreading. I thank God, who has manifested
His blessing where real prayer has been made. I
ask Christians who enjoy the delights of Christian
communion in England to remember the Church in
South Africa — to entreat the Lord to pour out upon
it the spirit of grace and supplication, and especially
to bless the missions noted in this book.
What need there is for all of us, in regard to
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prayer, ‘ to watch thereunto, with all 'perseverance and
supplication for all saints'
My task is accomplished. I send forth this testi-
mony to the Churches, believing and praying that the
Lord will bless it to the furtherance of His cause and
kingdom on earth.
Very earnestly do I request their prayers for my-
self, and for the mission to the Galeka tribe which
the Lord has committed to my care ; that He will
fill my brethren, their wives, and all our native
fellow-labourers with the Holy Ghost, and that by
the light of His word and Spirit He will scatter the
powers of witchcraft and all darkness in this land ;
that He will bring Kreli and thousands of his people
to His feet. My prayer for myself is, that the Lord
will use me more and more to spread the knowledge
of His name throughout the earth.
This I pray : ‘ Show me Thy way , 0 Lord, and lead
me in a plain path, because of those that observe me/
‘ Do Thou for me, 0 God the Lord, for Thy name's sake /
For my brethren and the Churches throughout the
whole earth I pray : ‘ Let Thy work appear unto Thy
servants, and Thy glory unto their children. And let
the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us ; and estab-
lish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the
work of our hands establish Thou it.'
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity. Amen.
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